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A lap away from career-high finish, Caps fan Ryan Ellis places 30th at Daytona

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On January 20, NASCAR driver and huge Caps fan Ryan Ellis got married near Asheville, North Carolina to longtime girlfriend Allison Bowman. Right after the couple said their I dos, news broke on Twitter that Ellis would get back in a stock car again at Daytona for the February 17 XFINITY race. The wedding reception celebrated the nuptials and his latest career opportunity.

Ellis, who stepped away from full-time racing to serve as Matt DiBenedetto’s PR person, drove the number 78 Densify Toyota Camry as the third car for BJ McLeod Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway.

After a late-race wreck, Ellis finished the race in 30th place.

Ellis was as high as eighth, which would have been the highest finish of his career, but wrecked on the first of two laps during the third overtime restart, seconds from a potential white flag. The 28-year-old driver was in the middle groove coming off of turn four when he was bumped, lost control of his race car, and went into the wall.

“I don’t know what I would have done differently,” Ellis said of the wreck. “I would have likely had a top five if I would not have been blocked. I was sandwiched. I got hit from behind and the side. There was no saving that car.

“The hit didn’t hurt – that was a positive,” Ellis continued. “I went right into the fence going 190 miles per hour. And I was blind because the sun was setting right in front of us. It was the stupidest thing. I couldn’t see anything.”

Ellis placed 15th at Daytona last year at the Subway Firecracker 250, his career-high finish, and was tantalizingly close to his first ever top ten.

“If we we would have crashed 100 yards later, we would have probably finished sixth,” Ellis said. “I thought the race was ending because the leader had crossed the line. I crashed Kyle Larson into the wall racing to the line because I thought it was the finish under caution.”

Ellis spent most of the race hanging out in a second pack of cars away from the race leaders. This was by design.

“Racing that way was so boring, but there was a plan behind it,” Ellis said. “We were just hanging out and waiting out through the first two stages. Then we were going to make our move in the third stage, waiting for a wreck.”

That proved to be smart. During the third stage, Ellis moved up as many of the big-name drivers wrecked going for victory. Three overtime restarts threw Ellis into the top ten, but the fourth would send him to the garage for the rest of the race.

According to NASCAR.com, after a stoppage of 5 minutes and 27 seconds, and on the 23rd extra lap, Tyler Reddick won, beating Elliott Sadler to the stripe, bumping side-by-side to the finish line.

Ellis found the overtimes (two laps added to end of the race so there’s a competitive finish) fun, but that also that it amplified the danger of the race.

“Do I like it? Yes and no,” Ellis said. “Really, it just causes more crashes. It makes drivers a lot stupider. From a fan’s perspective, you want to see them race to the finish though.”

Ellis, who called his car “one of the best superspeedway cars” he’s ever raced in, also shared, from his perspective, what it was like driving at the iconic race track.

“It’s like driving down I-95, except less scary,” Ellis joked. “Driving to the track is more scary than driving on the track.

“The car can handle 230 MPH or 240 MPH, but they have restrictor plates,” Ellis continued. “You don’t slide at all. You’re stuck in your seat; stuck to the track. It’s really not hard to drive physically, but mentally it’s draining. You’re in a pack of cars the whole time. Imagine it’s like stop-and-go traffic, but going 200 MPH. There’s a lot happening so you’re mentally exhausted by the end. Driver-wise it doesn’t take a lot of skill, but you just have to be smart. We were smart in the first half, but couldn’t close.”

Ellis will stay in Daytona Beach on Sunday to help his friend Matt DiBenedetto, one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR’s big league, during the Sprint Cup Race.

“I gotta be at track at 7 AM tomorrow,” Ellis said.

Will this be the last time Ellis is in a NASCAR this season? Ellis was unsure, but hopeful for more opportunities while still juggling his day job with GO FAS Racing.

“I don’t know,” Ellis said. “I’ve talked about it a lot with owner BJ McLeod. It comes down to funding – and oddly enough, approval from my job. I have to figure it out. I can’t get fired for asking for too many weekends off.”

As for how he would end his night, Ellis, who drove a RMNB sponsored race car in Dover two Octobers ago, laughed.

“I’m going to go watch the Caps-Hawks game.”

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