Ty Gibbs' road to Vegas victory slowed by run-in and payback with Ryan Sieg
Ty Gibbs’ march to victory Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway had quite the early detour.
Gibbs had an exchange of words with new rival Ryan Sieg that boiled over into retaliation after an early run-in during Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Sieg got the worst end of it, retiring after completing just 25 laps, while Gibbs drove away to his first win of the 2022 season.
Sieg’s No. 39 RSS Racing Ford sustained significant right-rear damage after close racing with Gibbs’ No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the third of 200 laps in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300. Sieg’s car clapped the outside wall in Turn 4, and he limped back to pit road for repairs.
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Both drivers continued, but the race was stopped with just 19 laps complete by rain and a wintry mix at the 1.5-mile track. During the delay, Sieg discussed the incident with Gibbs on pit road, and both drivers later shared their sides of the story with FOX Sports.
“So he’s got the best car out here, way out from everybody. Just not smart on his part,” said Sieg, who eventually wound up 36th in the 38-car field. “I mean, we’re trying to just survive and make it through these two (races), and just riding along and then all of a sudden get packed with air and you’re already free. But just sucks for our CMR guys. I mean, all of our guys work hard.”
Reminded of Gibbs’ limited experience at age 19 and in his first full Xfinity Series season, Sieg said, “No, he’s definitely, probably gonna learn his lesson, if you know what I mean,” adding that he did not consider the matter to be settled.
Gibbs offered his account: “I mean, I got into him and it was totally, it was my fault, but we were all packed up underneath each other there and once he started to get a little bit aero-free, once it happens, it’s so quick when they come to you. And I just didn’t have enough time to get out of it, and we’ve seen it before. So I made my mistake on that part. And I told him, like I said, if my goal is to wreck you or to ruin your day, you wouldn’t have made it around another lap, and it was my fault.”
Once the race resumed after a nearly 42-minute delay, Sieg delivered on his lightly veiled “learn his lesson” threat, squeezing Gibbs high in the groove on the 29th lap to express his frustration. Sieg then lost control, his spinning No. 39 collecting the cars of Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt exiting Turn 4 in his wake.
“Wow, that was really smart there,” reported the No. 54 radio. “Maybe he can go punch a bag at home or something.”
Gibbs rallied late, getting by Noah Gragson in the final restart to lead the last six laps.
