Ryley Seibert knows when he rolls his tires onto the track at Sun Valley Speedway today in Vernon, the battle is on for the ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series stock car racing championship.
Just 15 points in the driver's standings separate the third-place Seibert from series leader Mark Berriau of Penticton, while second-place Ian Graham of Harrison Hot Springs is also in the hunt, just five points back of Berriau.
It's too close to call, and there's no tomorrow. This is the last race of the season and Seibert is going for it.
"We have high hopes of winning that race and hopefully giving us a chance to win the championship," said Seibert. "We've worked hard and got four podiums in five starts now and the car has just come together."
The 19-year-old from Williams Lake is still looking for his first win, having finished third in Vernon on opening day and second on his home track, followed by third-place finishes in Quesnel and Agassiz. A flat tire in the Prince George race June 18 that knocked him out of second place with 25 laps to go resulted in an 11th-place finish, which hurt Seibert's points standing.
He had the quickest car in qualifying in Quesnel as well, and he's hoping to make that a trifecta today on the half-mile oval in Vernon.
"In a perfect world, I need to get pole position, then win my heat race and my main [100-lap] race," he said. "The final race of the year is always such a fun time to watch. It's overtime in the playoffs. It's all about getting a bit of luck and keeping your nose clean to the end.
"Vernon's track is an awesome facility because it's so smooth and it's fast, with lots of room to pass, and I've been really good there. The first time I got into one of these cars [last year] I was fourth out of 24 cars."
Crew chief Dave Bruin replaced the Chevy Impala's engine halfway through the season and Seibert used the additional 40 horsepower to smash the track record Aug. 6 in Agassiz.
Seibert, the son of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series racer Trevor Seibert, finished 16th out of 21 at the NASCAR race in Saskatoon July 27.
Bob Williams of Prince George, who ranks 10th in the standings, and P.G. driver Logan Jewell, who holds down 13th spot, are also entered in today's race.
