After 422 career starts, Ryan Sieg finally has his first career pole.
Sieg delivered a milestone qualifying run at Iowa Speedway, putting down a 23.966-second lap to claim the top spot for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. Not only is it the first pole of Sieg’s career, but it will also mark his first-ever start from the front row.
For a driver who has spent more than a decade grinding his way through the series, Saturday’s qualifying session became a career moment.
Sieg had little room for error, either.
Ross Chastain came within 0.064 seconds of stealing the pole, but Sieg’s lap held up. Carson Kvapil was right behind in third at 0.076 seconds off the top spot, while Rajah Caruth and Justin Allgaier completed the top five.
The numbers show just how close qualifying was. Sheldon Creed qualified sixth and was only 0.089 seconds behind Sieg, meaning the entire top six was separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Jeremy Clements grabbed seventh, while Corey Day, Sammy Smith and Parker Retzlaff rounded out the top 10.
Qualifying Top 10
- Ryan Sieg — 23.966
- Ross Chastain — 0.064 behind
- Carson Kvapil — 0.076 behind
- Rajah Caruth — 0.083 behind
- Justin Allgaier — 0.088 behind
- Sheldon Creed — 0.089 behind
- Jeremy Clements — 0.136 behind
- Corey Day — 0.178 behind
- Sammy Smith — 0.178 behind
- Parker Retzlaff — 0.178 behind
For Sieg, though, this qualifying session is about much more than simply starting first.
Four hundred and twenty-two starts. No poles. No front-row starts. Until Iowa.