25-year-old Riley Herbst must have been on cloud nine when he won the Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis back in July. It was the second series victory of his career and it put him on top of the newspapers as a potential candidate for 23XI Racing’s yet-to-be-confirmed third charter. But the pieces that were moved in the sport since have taken him far down the ladder from that cloud.
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A string of poor finishes eliminated the youngster from the playoffs and 23XI Racing went into battle against NASCAR by filing an antitrust lawsuit against them. Forget a third charter, the existing charters of the team itself are in question as things stand. Where does this leave Herbst with his current team, Stewart-Haas Racing, shutting shop at the end of the season?
He was questioned about the same in a press conference recently and he gave the haziest answer in history. He said, “I think there’s a lot of things holding back the dominoes to fall and I’m not the first one to initiate the fall of the dominoes, so I’ll leave it at that. Hopefully, everything will sort itself out here shortly, but I don’t see anything happening in the meantime.”
The driver wouldn’t even entertain the idea of him being in the Cup Series next year. To a question about how he’d prepare if he were to race in the premier tier in 2025, he just beat around the bush with remarks about how he wanted to focus on the existing races with Stewart-Haas Racing.
“Nothing is by any means set,” he said. “So, I don’t know what steps I’ve taken or what steps I’ve not taken.”
What’s next for Herbst?
He already appears to be doing the best thing he can do right now. Which is to try to prove himself under the big lights. The final three races of the season present him a great opportunity to show potential Cup Series teams that he can perform on the biggest stages even when his future is uncertain.
Such resilience is what the big fishes out there are looking out for constantly. Stewart-Haas Racing’s charters are unclaimed so far. Even if it isn’t 23XI Racing that ends up with them, some team will and Herbst will have to be at his best for the eyes to fall on him.
All said and done, he is a great driver with great financial backing (Monster Energy and his family’s company, Terrible Herbst, sponsor him). He will likely land on his feet when the dust settles. The question is whether he will be in the Xfinity Series or in the Cup Series when the season begins next year.
