Is Riley Herbst Joining Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series?

Srijan Mandal | 25/09/2024
Is Riley Herbst Joining Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series?

The future for NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Riley Herbst seems uncertain at the moment with no official confirmation from 23XI Racing. Herbst was heavily speculated to join the Michael Jordan co-owned Cup Series team as they planned to expand to a three-car charter, but with the team not signing the charter agreement, things are still in limbo.

Talking about his Cup future and chances of signing with 23XI, Herbst said, “Not confident, by any means. Distraction-wise, I think it weighs on all of us a little bit. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, hopefully, things kind of sort themselves out in the meantime for the future, but I can’t worry about that now.”

23XI Racing is one of the two teams left to sign the agreement. While the other big teams have seemingly agreed with the governing body, Hamlin and Jordan believe the terms of the deal aren’t fair. With this situation, there is no surety that the team will acquire a 3rd charter for the 2025 season.

Herbst with an impressive 2025 campaign

The SHR Xfinity Series driver has been an interesting prospect for 23XI Racing. With an increasingly impressive streak of race performances including a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a lot of teams would have eyes on him moving forward.

In his stint in the Xfinity Series, Herbst has scored two wins, and just this season alone he has five top 5s and ten top 10s under his belt. Herbst has currently secured himself in the 8th position in the playoffs, right above the cut-off bubble at +3 points.

Not knowing what the future holds for him will surely be a lingering thought on his mind. However, he’ll try to brush past this air of uncertainty and concentrate on making the best of his 2024 Xfinity Series campaign. At this juncture, he will have to wait and see if 23XI Racing closes their deal as soon as possible, before deciding if they want him to join the fray starting next.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma
23XI Racing Bubba Wallace Denny Hamlin Michael Jordan Tyler Reddick

About the author

Avatar photo

Srijan Mandal

Srijan Mandal is the Lead NASCAR Editor and Strategist at The Sportsrush with a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of motorsports. With several thousand articles under his belt over the years, he has established himself as a leading authority on all things racing. His passion for motorsports started at a young age, and he has dedicated his career to covering the sport in all its forms. He is an expert in various disciplines, including stock car racing, American motorsports, Formula 1, IndyCar, NHRA, MotoGP, WRC, WEC, and several more. But Srijan's love for racing goes beyond his writing. He actively competes in professional open-wheel sim racing, using '88' as his racing number. While he mostly participates in GT Endurance classes, he also ventures into Stock Car racing from time to time. In case, you wish to contact Srijan, kindly send an email to him at [email protected] or just DM him on Twitter.

Don’t miss these