In November 2024, Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan, expanded its lineup by introducing a third NASCAR Cup Series car and welcoming its latest team member, Riley Herbst. The 25-year-old driver, who finished the 2024 Xfinity Series season in P7 place, will strap behind the #35 Toyota Camry starting in the upcoming season. During this transition, Hamlin shared his expectations for the newcomer.
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On a recent episode of his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin expressed strong confidence in Herbst’s potential for the forthcoming season. He remarked, “I really feel confident that Riley will outperform expectations this year. I think he’s very hungry, I think he’s very focused, and very underrated in the talent side of things. So, I’m expecting good things from him.”
However, Hamlin also tempered his optimism with a note of caution, stating, “I’m very very careful with expectations but I think he’s going to be a person that will contend inside the top 20 on most weeks.”
He further explained his stance regarding the newcomer, Herbst, “For Riley, you have to be realistic with the expectations of a rookie coming in a new team. And I just feel as though he’s going to continue to get better and better as the year goes on.”
Drawing parallels from his experiences with 23XI Racing drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, Hamlin observed that his expectations for them evolve annually based on their performance. He expressed a philosophy of continual improvement, saying, that he expects his drivers to keep getting better, and the same would be the case with Herbst as well.
Hamlin jots down the parameters on which he would judge Herbst’s progression
Hamlin, who has maintained consistency in his performance throughout his career — finishing outside the top 10 in the final standings only three times in his 19-year full-time NASCAR Cup career — might naturally aspire for his rookie drivers to display similar steadiness from the outset. However, he has articulated specific criteria for evaluating his new driver, Herbst, in the upcoming season.
Hamlin noted that while he anticipates Riley consistently finishing in the top 20, this is not a rigid benchmark. Rather, he is more interested in assessing Riley’s innate capabilities, the very qualities that secured his position with the team. Nevertheless, Riley will also need to demonstrate his aptitude in handling the Next Gen cars.
Moreover, Hamlin is keen to observe his growth in terms of speed, performance, and most critically, results over the course of the year. It is these outcomes, Hamlin emphasizes, that will ultimately measure Herbst’s success of the season.
