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2016 Xfinity Season in Review: Ryan Sieg

NASCAR XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 - Qualifying

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 23: Ryan Sieg, driver of the #39 NiceTargets Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 23, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Ryan Sieg

CREW CHIEF: Kevin Starland

TEAM: RSS Racing

POINTS: 9th

WINS: 0

LAPS LED: 2 (tied 2014 total but regressed from 10 laps led in 2015)

TOP 5s: 1 (third place, Daytona II)

TOP 10s: 3 (career best single season effort)

POLES: 0

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Sieg continued to mature as a driver in his third full season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He’s shown continued improvement each season and in 2016 saw his average start climb to 18.7 and average finish to 17.8, both single-season bests for him. For the second time in three years, his best single-race finish was third in the summer Xfinity race at Daytona.

WHAT WENT WRONG: Sieg musters on but needs better equipment that can get him to the front. Consider this: he led just TWO laps the entire season and finished on the lead lap just 12 times in a 33-race season. That’s just over one-third of the races. While he’s to be commended for running at the finish in 31 races, it’s clear he needs stronger and higher-performing cars.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2017: Unless things change and there’s a big influx of added money and performance, Sieg will likely continue to struggle. Sure, he’s improved from 16th to 11th to ninth in his first three full-time seasons, but he and his team need to continue going forward. Yet if they don’t have the money or equipment to do so, they may very well likely have a similar season in 2017 much like they had in 2016.

Follow @JerryBonkowski