I’d like to start by thanking Cameron Delien for taking the time to do this interview. We all wish you and Ryan Seig Racing the best of luck for the season.
Q: What is your name and position with Ryan Seig Racing?
A: Cameron Delien, #39 Engine Tuner
Q: How did you get into this line of work?
A: Once my vision got too bad to keep pursuing being a fighter jet pilot for the USAF, I went towards my second love, racing. My grandfather got me into NASCAR at a very young age, always having it on the TV in his apartment. I always loved the diecast cars he had up all over.
I graduated high school at 16 in 2022 to start pursuing this field. I wanted to drive, but it is difficult to fund. I decided to go to Lanier Tech, which offered a motorsports program that kicked things off. I learned so much there, it helped a lot. Finding internships at 17 was very challenging. Nobody wanted to chance a 17-year-old in their shop, which I understood, but at the same time, it was heartbreaking with how hard I was working.
The opportunity to Intern at RSS came up, I didn’t wait a second. They let me come on board, at the time, just to clean cars and parts. Throughout the 2023 season, there was a lot of turnover in staff. As people quit or got fired, I slowly learned more and took on some of their job responsibilities instead of just cleaning cars. It’s crazy thinking back to how quickly I came so far.
Once I turned 18 in August of 2023, I transitioned full-time with RSS. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish my degree due to some financial aid issues. Ultimately it ended up working out even better. At the end of 2023, the engine guy for RSS put his two weeks in. They decided that they were going to have me transition into the role. After Phoenix, my only training was pulling the motors out of the 4 Phoenix cars. I had some help from Rousch-Yates at the beginning of 2024. Ultimately, we have been much better with far fewer mechanical issues than before.
Q: What should we expect from Ryan Seig Racing this season?
A: In 2025, you should expect a lot from our team. Our HAAS Alliance is even stronger this year. With the 39 car moving up to North Carolina, we are getting access to better equipment and better parts. It’s not just the 39 car, Kyle Sieg is getting a lot of new parts and support from HFT as well.
Q: Does NASCAR technology help carmakers with passenger vehicles?
A: Honestly, the manufacturers don’t use as much information from NASCAR Technology as they should. However, it is hard to compensate for the cost of racing equipment in traditional passenger cars.
Q: What’s it like traveling for race weekends?
A: Traveling on the race weekends is fun, but sometimes challenging. Especially out of the Georgia shop, flying commercial was a big difficulty. Indy for instance, there was the whole situation where flight systems crashed everywhere. I didn’t land in Indy until practice was completely done, Ryan only got to turn a few laps. Noah Gragson hopped in Ryan’s car to get some laps in until he got there. This got some data on the cars. It is awesome getting to travel and see so much. The mountains in Vegas and the scenery in Portland are two of my favorite places. It’s awesome getting to explore this country on the weekends.
Q: Have you ever gotten behind the wheel? If so how was that experience?
A: I have a few times. I got to drive in a NASA Spec Mustang at Road Atlanta in an unofficial race. It was an amazing experience. This was my first time getting behind the wheel of a real racecar, and I loved every second of it. Where most might get scared, for me racing is calming. I’ve also driven in an unofficial Spec A Miata race at Road Atlanta. Those cars are small but man can they move.
Image Sourced From Cameron Delien
