Childhood dream came true for Riley Herbst at Daytona. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
597 drivers have competed in the Daytona 500 at least once. When the checkered flag dropped in Sunday’s 65th Daytona 500, five more drivers were added to the list, expanding the total to 602.
Of those five, only one can best the quintet. That man was Riley Herbst.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series regular made his Cup debut in the sport’s biggest race and wound up surviving the usual late-race madness to finish 10th, one spot higher than the next rookie, Travis Pastrana, one of most recognizable names in action sports.
For much of the race, Herbst was looking to gain some experience and avoid a DNF to his name. It wasn’t easy as Herbst endured a troubling moment on Lap 40 when his No. 15 Sunny D Ford Mustang spun at pit entry.
Despite the incident, the race stayed green while Herbst served a pass-through penalty for violating the commitment line. This set him back for a period of time, but he would later return on the lead lap.
Following a late-race spin by Daniel Suárez, the race went into overtime.
From there, things went straight to hell once the race resumed. Coming into Turn 3, the ever-dreadful “Big One” collected several contenders, including Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton.
Herbst would have a piece of it when he ran into the back of fellow 500 rookie Zane Smith, sliding down the apron and into the grass. Unfazed, the Las Vegas racer continued with very minimal damage and continued his Cup debut.
Once the 212-lap contest concluded, Herbst earned a top-10 result. The grand takeaway was Herbst indeed logged valuable track time in a race that’s been a childhood dream of his.
“It was long and a lot of riding, not really racing. I was kind of biding my time and trying to get experience,” said Herbst. “To finish top-10 was really cool. I am thankful for the opportunity to be here in the Cup Series and really happy with the finish in our first 500.”
The calm before the storm for Herbst (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish).
Time will tell when the Cup Series will see Herbst again as the deal came together months ago despite Stewart-Haas Racing (Herbst’s Xfinity team) no longer having a working relationship with Rick Ware Racing. It’s because RWR are now aligned with RFK Racing, who were the class of the field throughout Sunday’s race.
At night’s end, Herbst was the fourth-highest finishing Ford entry. Among Daytona 500 debutants, Herbst is the first race rookie to score a top-10 result since Ryan Preece and Ross Chastain in 2019.
With Daytona in the books, it’s back to focusing on a quest for that elusive Xfinity win as the series heads to Auto Club Speedway. During Media Day last Wednesday, Herbst explained out of all seasons, his fourth full-season is a mix bag of pressure and excitement.
“I’ve never been this excited for a full-time racing series in my life like I am for this year in the Xfinity Series,” said Herbst on Wednesday. “Just because I feel like Stewart-Haas Racing’s Xfinity program is at a high level right now and obviously having Cole Custer come down will only elevate my team as well, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
Live coverage of Production Alliance Group 300 begins Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on FS1. Herbst’s Xfinity teammate Cole Custer is the defending race winner. In two previous starts, the man who’ll turn 24 this Friday finished second in 2020 and ninth last year.
