“Aggressively smooth” are the words 19 year old Ryley Seibert used to describe what his driving style has developed into. The young racer from Williams Lake, BC is on fire this year collecting trophies, records, and the eyes of many professionals from across North America.
Seibert races full time in the ARCA OK Tire Series which tours up and down BC hitting oval tracks of all different shapes and sizes to test the drivers' ability to be fast at more than one place. Through the season, Seibert has collected 4 podium finishes in 5 races. The only podium that escaped him was in Prince George where he was running 2nd when he got a flat tire forcing him to pit. As it stands, the young gun sits 3rd in the ARCA Championship, being only a few points behind past champion Mark Berriau and fellow racer Ian Graham.
On August 6 at Agassiz Speedway, Seibert broke his first track record with a time of 14.122 seconds around the ¼ mile track. This would record the young racer's 2nd pole postion qualifying in a row after receiving his first at Gold Pan Speedway in Quesnel where he was only 0.007 seconds off the old track record while battling slight rain showers. “I have really found and focused on my ability to lay down a fast lap” comments Seibert, “ask any racer, it is a very tough thing to do.”
Outside the ARCA Series, Seibert has been also crewing for his Dad, Trevor Seibert, as well as competing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Junior Seibert stepped into the NASCAR #69 Lake Excavating Motorsports Ford Fusion at Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to try his hand with the best in Canada. “We know our oval program in the NASCAR Series isn't the best because of so much of our focus being on our road course program, but it's all about seat time”, said Seibert, “I finished 16th out of 21 cars but I learned a huge amount about my driving abilities and I know that I can more than drive at that caliper of racing.” The race was 250 laps and consisted of 2 pit stops, one for fuel and the other for right side tires, another two firsts for the racer. He received many handshakes and compliments from many of the NASCAR Officials and Drivers from the series proving that people are watching the western driver.
Seibert says that he sees himself as a double minority in the world of professional racing leagues, “to be not only be from Canada, but western Canada as well it's hard to find the opportunities to step into the top series”, Seibert explains, “but I refuse to stop believing in something so natural to me, I will fight to the top and I will remember where I came from.” On the days that he is not at the track, you'll find him on construction sites all over BC and Alberta playing the part of surveyor, foreman, operator, and many other specialty jobs for his Dad's company, Lake Excavating. It will be a journey well worth following. Find Ryley Seibert on twitter @RyleySeibert09 and on his Facebook fan page Ryley Seibert Racing.