All of the attention in the NASCAR world last weekend was on the Coca-Cola 600, and rightfully so.
The crown jewel event is the longest race on the Cup Series calendar, and it delivered with a thriller. After William Byron dominated, leading 283 of 400 laps, Ross Chastain made a late charge to steal the win despite starting shotgun on the field.
And yet, there's a case that the best story of the weekend may have occurred during the Xfinity Series race on Saturday afternoon.
At long last, Ryan Ellis scored his first career top 10 finish in NASCAR.
Ryan Ellis has been a recurring competitor in NASCAR's top three series, most often the Xfinity Series, for well over a decade. Originally coming from a road racing background, he made his debut at Road America in 2012 while driving for Jimmy Means Racing but completed only four of 50 laps in a "start and park" effort.
This was a practice implemented by many small teams that could not afford to damage their equipment, so they would have their driver park early on in the race and collect their minimal earnings while helping NASCAR keep the starting grid full.
Most of Ellis' first several years in NASCAR were spent bouncing around between such teams, with chances few and far between to truly showcase his talents. By the end of the 2010s, his driving opportunities had mostly dried up altogether, and he spent a few seasons serving as a PR representative for Cup Series team Go FAS Racing in order to remain a familiar face around the garage.
His hard work would pay off, and once Go FAS closed their doors following the 2020 season, Ellis was able to utilize his marketing skills by piecing together enough sponsorship to strap his helmet back on. He spent the next couple years driving part-time for B.J. McLeod and Tommy Joe Martins, two fellow grassroots Xfinity Series competitors doubling as team owners, and then made the move to full-time competition with Martins' Alpha Prime Racing in 2023.
His results steadily improved, routinely placing in the 20s and occasionally the teens, but a top 10 finish still eluded him. This season, Ellis moved to Mario Gosselin's DGM Racing team, and now his eighth place finish in the BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway marks a career-best effort.
It's stories like that of Ellis that have become such a rare, refreshing refrain in modern NASCAR racing. In a world that has sadly become overrun by nepotism and pay-to-play competitors at all levels, this is a driver who has carved out a place in the series through pure heart.
The 35-year-old has made short-term sacrifices throughout his career in order to maximize potential for long-term opportunities, and now, he is finally able to reap the rewards of his efforts.
Ellis' finish at Charlotte may not have been front page news, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger feel-good development in NASCAR this past weekend. Let's make sure the veteran scrappy underdog from Ashburn, Virginia gets his due.