Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup Series team announced an expansion ahead of the 2025 season of racing with Xfinity Series regular Riley Herbst joining them.
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23XI Racing will be seen expanding from a two-car operation by adding another charter to their lineup with the #35 Toyota being driven by Herbst next year.
25-year-old Herbst will be switching camp from Ford over to Toyota as he climbs the final rank of the NASCAR gauntlet after five seasons of racing in the junior Xfinity Series.
Elaborating on how he is preparing for his full-time debut in the big leagues, the Las Vegas, Nevada native spoke about how former Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick has been helping him get up to speed.
“Just with his knowledge and his wisdom. He’s been to the peak of the mountain, and then he’s won the championship in the Cup Series. So having somebody like him to lean on, to ask questions is invaluable to me as a young driver.” said Herbst on the mentorship he has been receiving from the 2014 champion.
Welcome to the family #forwardtogether #teamtoyota pic.twitter.com/wegE9Mw5vY
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) November 20, 2024
Despite having experienced how driving the Next Gen Cup car feels under green flag conditions, Herbst will be looking forward to increasing his competitiveness behind the wheel as he goes full-time next year. The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver made his debut behind the wheel of the seventh-generation racer in 2023, driving for Rick Ware Racing in the famed Daytona 500.
Riley became one of the few stock car racing drivers to achieve a top 10 finish in their debut race, with the Daytona outing crediting the 25-year-old with a P10 after a late race wreck. Elaborating on how his experience at the tri-oval, along with his other Cup Series appearances give him an overview of what to expect, Herbst said:
“A little bit. It was a lot there, so I’m excited to now have a stable foundation knowing how the cars drive. But I think it’s going to be totally different. The cars are going to be a lot better prepared, a lot faster than I drove last year.”
“I think everybody progresses at their own pace but I’ve been proud of the work that I put into my craft and how I’ve been getting better and better over a short period of time, and the results are starting to show,” he added, further solidifying his chances of being a regular face in the highest echelon of the sport.
It remains to be seen how well he gels with his teammates at 23XI Racing as well, with Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace slated to give tough competition to the new driver in his first full-time year.
