Ryan Ellis achieves first NASCAR Xfinity Series Top 10 finish after a tenacious effort at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night, ending a streak of 144 races without cracking the elusive threshold. Competing for DGM Racing, this landmark result comes after years of striving, with heartfelt aftermath for Ellis, his family, and his team in Concord, North Carolina.
Ellis Ends the Wait with a Memorable Night at Charlotte
Prior to Saturday’s BetMGM Xfinity Series race, Ellis’s best performance in NASCAR’s secondary division had been two 11th-place finishes, achieved at Talladega in 2023 and Daytona earlier this year. Despite relentless attempts, breaking into the Top 10 had proven elusive for him, often competing against powerhouse organizations such as Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and others.
That changed when the checkered flag waved in Charlotte. For a driver whose post-race routine usually involved slipping away quietly from the hauler, the tables turned as media members surrounded him, eager for his reaction to an unexpected storyline in the night’s competition. The attention highlighted the significance of his achievement for both his career and for DGM Racing, a team operating with fewer resources compared to their larger rivals.
Reflecting on the breakthrough, Ellis shared his elation:
“I broke the curse, Jerry, I broke it,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver. He lightheartedly explained how he nearly resorted to superstitions to break his run of near-misses.
Media Attention and Personal Sacrifices Mark the Victory
Ellis acknowledged the overwhelming swarm of interviews on Saturday, highlighting the novelty of such attention. He humorously detailed the chaos in the post-race paddock, which almost led to his hauler leaving without him:
“I swear I had more interviews yesterday than William Byron, I was like, this is actually good. I forgot to mention I was doing so many interviews that the haulers were pulling out and I went and tried to get changed and my hauler started pulling out with me still changing it, so I thought I was going to be riding back to Florida, like in my race suit and stuff because I didn’t have my phone on me. I was just like, well, this is a way to celebrate, I guess I’ll just be here for a day.”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
His sponsor’s timely intervention prevented an impromptu journey back to Florida still dressed in racing gear. By the time Ellis made it home, he was greeted not by party lights but by the cries of his three-month-old daughter, who had been unwell for hours. Family quickly became the priority, delaying any opportunity to celebrate with friends or teammates.
As Ellis recounted,
“When I got home my three-month-old daughter had been crying for two or three hours,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver. The commitment to family even in victory was evident, as he considered putting off a gathering with his crew until his mother could help.
“I was gonna go out and grab a drink with our guys, a few people from our team and friends and I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to, ’cause I didn’t know what was going on with her.”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
Eventually, with some help at home, Ellis managed a low-key celebration with teammates before returning to social media, spending hours personally responding to messages from supporters.
“We grabbed a few drinks and came right back home and I sat on Twitter for four hours just responding there to as many people as I could,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
Ellis Describes the Race and What Set This Night Apart
Ellis admitted that after such a significant result, he had yet to rewatch the race footage, choosing instead to replay each moment in his head. He described the immense focus required in the late laps and the pressure of finally being within reach of his long-awaited Top 10.
“I really haven’t watched it back yet, I feel like I earned it, which I know is a stupid term but I am really happy that I, at least, feel that way,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver. He recounted battling his own fears about making mistakes in critical moments, a tension sharpened by limited opportunities as a driver for smaller teams.
Ellis detailed the shift in his confidence during the race, which started when he realized he could match pace and even overtake strong competitors—including the race winner, William Byron, as well as cars from Joe Gibbs Racing and Austin Hill.
“I don’t know what it was about yesterday. I think I was so sick of hearing about this Top 10 thing that we were good and I was aggressive. It was nice to just look at cars and realize, ‘I think I am better than them.’ We could pass rather than trying not to lose spots.”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
This assertiveness kept him moving forward, even through the green-white-checkered shootout. Describing the brief moment he pulled ahead of Byron, Ellis revealed how small victories within the race provided a crucial psychological boost.
“It was weird. I think it was just how the beginning and middle part of the race goes, kind of, sets the tone and mindset of the race, for me at least, more than it probably should,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver. He added,
“We may have only passed the 17 for maybe half a corner or half a lap and I was like, ‘wow, we are fast. That’s pretty good.’ I passed the 3 (driven by Austin Hill) and a couple of Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars. We were legitimately fast and we deserved to be ahead of these cars. I don’t know, that is a good way to feel going to the green-white-checkered. At the green-white-checkers, I am usually thinking, block this lane, don’t get run over. Last night, I was like, I need to go forward. I was on offense and I am way better at offense than defense.”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
Emotional Aftermath and the Challenge of Racing for Smaller Teams
The last lap brought an emotional release for Ellis, who described the enormity of the finish overtaking him in real time. As his spotter Tab Boyd encouraged him to push to the finish line, Ellis tried unsuccessfully to hide the tears in his voice.
“Tab Boyd, my spotter, just started yelling at me, ‘Get to the line, get to the line.’ I tried to key up (the radio) and I didn’t think they could hear that I was crying and then I got to pit road and I heard Megan Gosselin, our PR person, saying, ‘yeah, I could hear it in his voice,’ and I was like, ‘oh no, they know.’ I sat in my car way too long, just hoping my eyes wouldn’t be bright red when I got out, and make it obvious, but they knew. I figured I was going to cry when I got out of the car so I was trying not to do it on both ends.”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
The journey to this point was especially poignant given the uphill battle faced by DGM Racing compared to multi-million-dollar operations in the field. The difficulties of competing with less funding and fewer resources were never far from Ellis’s mind or those of the fans who understand the struggle. Despite all odds, Ellis’s Top 10 serves as proof of what’s possible through resilience and seizing opportunity.
Ellis himself is realistic about future expectations, noting,
“Look, I don’t think we are going to finish Top 10 every week now, what was it, one in 144 starts? But I think it could be more common that we are in the Top 15 if we just find our groove and I play more on offense than on defense,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver. He reflected on the improvements within his own program and cited renewed confidence in the team’s equipment:
“But I think I have the best foundation of vehicles, best fleet of racecars, that I have ever had.”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
The Road Forward and Personal Perspective
Addressing his change in mindset, Ellis compared past efforts to a hockey player gripping the stick too tightly—overthinking performances instead of allowing instincts and preparation to pay off. He admitted that historically he focused too much on what was lacking, especially the missing Top 10 finishes, rather than what could be achieved on a given race day. He referenced previous near-misses, such as running as high as eighth at Iowa Speedway, before a damaged car and over-aggression dropped him back to fourteenth—including that haunting memory as motivation to keep pushing forward.
Ellis lightened the mood with self-deprecating humor about the obsessive focus on statistics:
“It’s okay, I don’t have to look at these exact numbers and over-math it because I am not good at math,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver. Even at home, his wife drew attention to the new career stat, pointing out that the zeros in his results column had finally changed:
“It looked better when it was zero. My wife pulled it up and was like, ‘look,’ but when it was zero, it looked like the website was down. It looks worse this way,”
—Ryan Ellis, Driver
The Importance of Ellis’s Breakthrough for Drivers and Independent Teams
For many drivers and fans alike, Ellis’s success resonates as an example of perseverance in a sport where financial investment often correlates with on-track results. The accomplishment stands as a beacon for up-and-coming racers and teams outside of NASCAR’s elite stables, proving that persistence and a fresh approach can yield rewards, even after heartbreak and frustration.
While Ellis is not expecting to challenge for the Top 10 every event, this achievement may mark a turning point, both personally and for DGM Racing. His continued determination and willingness to adapt, combined with support from his family and his sponsors, have repositioned him as a driver capable of taking advantage of opportunity when it arises. All eyes will be on Ellis and his team in the coming weeks to see if this new confidence leads to more notable runs within the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
