Written by Sean McKean
Amidst troubles within 23XI regarding the lawsuit, they still confirmed on 20 November that Riley Herbst will pilot the No. 35 car for the team full-time in 2025. This will be Herbst's first full-time Cup season.
Herbst started full competition in 2016 in the K&N West Series with McAnally Racing. There, he finished seventh in the standings with seven top fives.
He made the move to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017 to the ARCA Menards Series and remained there until 2019. In this time, he notched off two victories and a best finish of third in the standings in 2018.
Having made sporadic starts the year prior, Herbst jumped to the Xfinity Series in 2020 with Joe Gibbs. Despite a few top five finishes earlier in the season, he only managed 12th in the standings.
He made the move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021 in the No. 98 entry and remained there until 2024. During this time, Herbst took three victories - Las Vegas fall 2023, Indianapolis and Phoenix fall 2024 - with a best finish of seventh in the standings this previous year.
For Herbst's 2025, uncertainty remains around his entry still. At best-case scenario, he will have to run an open entry - meaning risking not qualifying for every race in 2025. Whether he remains for another year won't be down to performance alone; rather, how much it costs to run three open entries.
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