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| "Let's add some sponsorship patches to that firesuit! But not TOO many..." |
After years of trying to make it on his own, Xfinity Series driver Ryan Sieg has shown flashes of greatness, competing against Cup-affiliated teams (and drivers) on a regular basis. While looking for a shot at a top-flight ride, he instead has been given something greater—status as The Official Underdog of Nascar.
“We have seen what Ryan’s been able to do driving his own equipment on a shoe-string budget, and we want him to keep that up for the near future”, said Nascar chairman Brian France in a press release. “Ryan shows what you can do in this great sport if you have drive, determination, and talent: You can run for the occasional top-10 in the Xfinity Series. With money and solid sponsorship, all you can do is run in Cup.”
“We’re glad that Nascar has paid attention to our coverage of Ryan this year”, Fox Sports producer John Davis said. “As The Official Underdog of Nascar, Ryan will continue to be the class of the field—well, the class of his CLASS of the field, mind you. He won’t be running for wins, or for a Cup-affiliated team, but who needs that when you’re the scrappy feel-good story?”
As The Official Underdog of Nascar, Sieg earns such privileges as at least one celebrity-affiliated quasi-sponsorship a season, a guarantee that his last name is spelled correctly on Jayski, and will be mentioned at least once each telecast for “…having a great run”. Sieg will also be locked-in to a top-10 finish in points, although he will remain barred from a top-5 finish for the near future.
“We’ve listened to our fans, and they’ve told us what they want”, France’s press release continued. “What they want is a young, hungry underdog they can root for, and that’s what Ryan Sieg is. Of course, our data also supports what we’ve known for years—that fans want to see Cup drivers dominate the Xfinity Series as much as possible, with occasional wins by developmental drivers affiliated with Cup teams, so we’ll make sure that we keep Ryan’s race team from getting TOO good.”
Ryan Sieg was unavailable for comment, as he was busy beating his head against a nearby wall.