The first Xfinity Series race at Pocono might have predictably been dominated by the strongest teams on the circuit and cut short by rain, but it gave us our first serious driver-on-driver word crime of the season.
Ryan Sieg went after Ryan Reed, both verbally and apparently physically as well on Saturday. Sieg crashed because of contact with Reed and then a little bit later, Reed's car smashed into the wall, likely because of the damage he sustained from contact with Sieg.
After the race was halted on lap 53 for rain, Sieg went to find Reed and, according to Motorsport.com, "pushing and shoving" ensued as the crews got involved. Here's what Sieg said about Reed. And damn, you can almost see the frustration pouring out of the words.
"(Reed) kept jabbing off with his mouth so I figured I'd shut it up for him."
He added, "You can't race the kid, he's got a lot of money and he's got a Roush car, but he can't drive it. Just an idiot. Everywhere he goes, it seems like he's always in a wreck.
"Money can't buy skill obviously with him."
Sieg was surrounded by Roush Fenway Racing crew members as the confrontation intensified and when Motorsport.com asked where his own crew were, he said, "We only had four against 20 ... Just outnumbered."
Oh, Sieg also added this: "Either he can't see or he's brain dead or he can't drive – Probably all three."
Damn.
Reed, who has Type 1 diabetes, is sponsored by Lilly Diabetes and drives for Roush Fenway Racing. Sieg, meanwhile, runs his own team and is often forced to run an unsponsored car and a second start-and-park car for some extra money. Yes, they share the same first name, but that's about all they have in common when it comes to their Xfinity Series careers.
Reed won the season-opening race at Daytona in 2015 and hasn't recorded a top-10 finish since. Sieg had one top-10 finish last year and has one this season. He said he was also planning on taking his crashed Pocono car to Michigan before it was torn up.
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