For the first time since amicably parting ways with Sam Hunt Racing at the end of last season, Kaz Grala is returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, announcing on social media that he’ll drive the No. 28 Ford Mustang for RSS Racing in the Focused Health 250 at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday.
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Grala will be running double-duty in the first road course weekend of the 2024 season in Austin, Texas, coupling his one-off Xfinity Series effort with his role as anchor driver of the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Kyle Sieg, announced in December 2023 to be running the full schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for RSS Racing, will be sitting out this weekend’s event at Circuit of The Americas but will return to the seat of the No. 28 Ford Mustang at Richmond Raceway. Last year, the youngest of the Sieg brothers made a similar decision, skipping events at Sonoma Raceway and the Chicago Street Course, making way for a more experienced driver to drive the RSS Racing entry.
It’s been a difficult start to the season for the 22-year-old driver, who failed to qualify for the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway and then had a 36th-place finish in the second race of 2024 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Even with top-25 finishes at Las Vegas and Phoenix, the No. 28 RSS Racing entry enters the fifth event of the season at Circuit of The Americas sitting 35th in NASCAR Xfinity Series owner points, a position that will likely require the driver to qualify inside the top-33 to make Saturday’s event.
Grala, who has been competing in NASCAR’s National Series since 2016, has found success on road courses in each of NASCAR’s top three divisions, including a seventh-place result in his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Daytona’s Road Course while being a last-minute fill-in for Austin Dillon.
Driving for Sam Hunt Racing, Grala managed to score four top-10 results on road courses last season, with positive results at Chicago, Road America, Indy’s Road Course, and Charlotte’s ROVAL.
Traditionally, the road courses have been a weak spot for RSS Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, only registering six top-10 finishes in 95 road course starts, highlighted by a victory last Summer at Sonoma Raceway by Aric Almirola – albeit in a Stewart-Haas Racing prepped vehicle.
