“Aggressively smooth” are the words 19-year-old Ryley Seibert uses to describe what his driving style has developed into.
The young racer from Williams Lake is on fire this year collecting trophies, records and the eyes of many professional race car drivers from across North America.
Seibert races full time in the ARCA OK Tire Series which tours up and down B.C. hitting oval tracks of all different shapes and sizes while testing the drivers’ ability to be fast at more than one place.
Throughout the season Seibert has a collection of four podium finishes in five races.
The only podium that escaped Seibert was in Prince George where he was running second when he got a flat tire forcing him to pit.
As it stands, the young gun sits third in the ARCA Championship, being only a few points behind past-champion Mark Berriau and fellow racer Ian Graham.
On Aug. 6 at the Agassiz Speedway Seibert broke his first track record with a time of 14.122 seconds around the quarter-mile track.
This would record the young racer’s second pole position qualifying in a row after receiving his first at Golf 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,” Seibert said.
“As any racer, it’s a very tough thing to do.”
Outside the ARCA Series Seibert has been crewing for his dad, Trevor Seibert, as well as competing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
The younger Seibert stepped into the NASCAR No. 69 Lake Excavating Motorsports Ford Fusion at the Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask. 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,” Seibert said.
“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 calibre of racing.”
The race featured 250 laps and consisted of two pit stops, one for fuel and the other for right-side tires, another two firsts for the racer.
Seibert said 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 said he sees himself as a double minority in the world of professional racing leagues.
“To not only be from Canada, but western Canada as well ... it’s hard to find the opportunities to step into the top series,” he said.
“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 days not at the track Seibert can be found on construction sites all over B.C. and Alberta playing the part of surveyor, foreman, operator and many other specialty jobs for his dad’s company, Lake Excavating.
For more on Seibert visit his Twitter feed at RyleySeibert09 or his Facebook fan page by searching Ryley Seibert Racing.