Written by Gabriel Tsui, Edited by Tarun Suresh
Riley Herbst has come a long way. After eight years of dwelling and marinating in the junior ranks of stock car racing, he finally earned a shot at proving his worth in the Cup Series. But how did this journey begin? How did Riley Herbst rise to this position of success?
It was February 24th, 1999, and Herbst was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Born into a racing family, he began racing karts at the age of five and progressed through the ranks, including speed trucks and super late models.
In 2016, at the age of 17, Herbst got his first taste of the NASCAR junior ranks, running a full season with Bill McAnally Racing in ARCA West, while occasionally featuring in ARCA East. Despite not being able to secure a win in his debut season to the series, he was able to finish within the top-five in seven out of fourteen races.
His impressive performance earned him a job with Joe Gibbs Racing, securing a full-time ride for the 2017 ARCA season. In his initial season, he secured a win and multiple top-five finishes, completing his rookie season in fifth place in the driver’s championship, while also winning the 2017 ARCA rookie of the year.
Herbst returned to the series for a second season. Though he failed to secure a win during the 2018 season, he improved his consistency and cut down the amount of DNFs, closing out the season with eight consecutive top-ten finishes, rising to third place in the driver’s championship.
Following two great seasons of ARCA racing and a year of part time driving across Xfinity, Trucks and ARCA, Herbst was finally promoted to the Xfinity Series, continuing his journey with JGR. He had an impressive rookie year, making playoffs despite not winning a single race, finishing the season in 12th place in the championship.
However, JGR decided to bring in the veteran presence with the signing of Daniel Hemric, leaving Herbst without a ride, until Stewart Haas Racing scooped up the 22-year-old to drive in the No.98 for the 2021 season.
In the following two seasons, he led impressive campaigns and made the playoffs despite being seated in an objectively worse piece of machinery, while also showcasing his impressive consistency. But something was missing for Herbst.
The win he was looking for was still missing, and even more bad news for him: Former Xfinity champion Cole Custer will be returning for the 2023 season. That meant resources were diverted away from the No. 98, and for the first time in his Xfinity career, he missed the playoffs.
The mid-season slump he had proved to be too big of a hole for the young driver to climb out of, and the fact that Custer won the championship drew criticism for Herbst. It seemed like Herbst was going to be another Xfinity dweller who started off promising, but simply didn’t have what it took to go to the Cup.
But that wasn’t the end of Herbst’s journey. Rather, it was the beginning.
Towards the end of the 2023 Xfinity season, the field headed west to Las Vegas, the hometown of Herbst, to kick off the round of eight. Starting the race outside the top-20, he made incredible ground to move all the way up to tenth place by the end of stage one.
Amid multiple crashes and cautions, Herbst moved up to fourth place halfway through stage two, and slowly crept up to the leader, none other than his teammate Cole Custer. With a huge run down the back straight and great control heading down the final turn, Herbst took the stage two win.
Leading the way for the final stage, Herbst initially lost the lead but returned to the lead with a dominating lead over his fellow competitors, leading by almost 15 seconds coming around to the checkered flag, as the Las Vegas native took his first win in 139 Xfinity Series starts.
2024 did not get off to a great start for Herbst, as he only had three top-ten finishes in the first ten races. It seemed like it was the same story for Herbst, being incredibly close but unable to take the win. However, in the 20th race of the Xfinity season in Indianapolis, Herbst started on the front row, stayed close to the front throughout the race, and held the lead heading into the final thirty laps.
A caution threw off Herbst’s tempo, and he conceded the lead to AJ Allmendinger on the restart. His teammate, Cole Custer, moved ahead and took over the lead while Herbst followed close behind. With twenty laps to go, however, Herbst got a good run down the inside of Custer, and snatched the lead away.
A few laps later, the caution flag was waved and Herbst once again lost the lead on the restart. But there was no quit for Herbst. He missed out on the playoffs last year and is determined not to let that happen again. Heading into the final lap, it was Aric Almirola in front with Herbst breathing down his neck.
Herbst got a huge run down the inside down turn three, cleared Almirola heading into turn four, and it was pedal to the metal to the yard of bricks, as Custer pounced on the vulnerable Almirola, securing a SHR 1-2 finish.
In the playoffs, Herbst was eliminated early but his consistent performance earned the 25-year-old a 7th place in the final driver’s standings. Shortly after, Herbst was announced as the third 23XI driver, finally getting his promotion to the Cup, piloting the No.35 for the 2025 Cup Series season.
In a statement, Herbst expressed his excitement: “It’s an honor to join 23XI and Toyota for the opportunity to race in the Cup Series each week. Racing full-time in the Cup Series has been my goal since I started in NASCAR and I’m excited to start my Cup career with such an accomplished and driven team. What 23XI has accomplished in a short time is impressive and I look forward to building on their success as the organization grows. It’s also great to continue representing Monster and I’m excited about adding to their legacy in NASCAR.”
It was not an easy road for Herbst, but all the effort has proven to be fruitful. As he moves onto a brand new challenge, it will be interesting to see how he does.
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