Herbst Proves His Critics Wrong with Thrilling Win at Indy
Riley Herbst celebrates his dramatic Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series win on the victory podium at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo by Walt Kuhn/Penske Entertainment)
They said he couldn’t finish, that when it was all on the line, he couldn’t be counted on to win.
Saturday, in a thrilling three-car battle for the win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Riley Herbst proved them all wrong.
In a race that featured three different leaders in the final three laps, Herbst won the Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
Coming to the white flag out of Turn 4, Herbst dove inside his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer to take the lead, but a fast-closing Aric Almirola passed them both into Turn 1. Herbst gathered himself, chased Almirola into Turn 3, raced him side-by-side, got sideways, saved it and slipped by for the win.
“I impressed myself,” said Herbst of those final laps of the race. “I was proud of that drive right there.
“I think the best two cars were myself and the 00 (Custer), so I knew I was better than the 20 (Almirola). It's just a matter if I had enough time to get him. I wanted to (make my) move out of Turn 2. That's where I'd gotten most of my people. I didn't really want to pass him where I passed him, in the short chute, just because it's so hard to complete a pass in the short chute because they can jump back on your outside and you can get loose as you saw me get loose in (Turn) 4. When I was sideways I thought it was over and was wrecked. I would kind of do a Hail Mary and it stuck. I just cranked the wheel to the right and went wide open and somehow I could drive out of it. Just broke the draft off of (Turn) 4 to the line, but that was cool. That was a lot of fun.
“This is iconic. This is the place that you dream of coming just to watch race and let alone be here. I just won, so that's pretty cool.”
Riley Herbst takes the checkered flag ahead of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Aric Almirola. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Herbst finished 0.167-seconds ahead of SHR teammate Custer who edged Almirola for second at the yard of bricks. It was Herbst’s first win of the season and second of his career.
After the race, NASCAR Cup Series driver and team co-owner Denny Hamlin posted a one-word comment on X about Herbst’s finishing effort…”Impressive”. For Herbst, that was a validation of all the work he’s been putting in.
“Yeah, the biggest thing is, I've always known I can do this. Back in 2020, 2021, I was reading everything online that I couldn't finish races and I had no speed. I knew that if I worked hard enough, I could be where I am right now. So, when you see somebody, one of the best in the sport like Denny Hamlin tweet that, it was impressive. I mean, that just that makes you feel good.
“Obviously everybody wants to feel wanted in this world and I'm excited for for that, that he said that. I got text messages from a lot of really good racecar drivers saying the same thing. So, that's pretty awesome. This is such a huge moment, but we're gonna have a summer break and now we need to continue this momentum. And like I said in January, I think we're one of the best three teams in the garage and there's no reason why we shouldn't be in Phoenix (for the Xfinity Series championship-deciding race in November) and I think that just proved it right there.”
Photo by Matt Fraser/Penske Entertainment
Now in his fifth full season in the Xfinity Series, Herbst has seen other drivers come into Xfinity and move up to the Cup Series, while he has not. Herbst says not everyone developed at the same rate.
“I don't think there's somebody in the top three (NASCAR) series (that) has progressed and gotten better more than me. Just going back and watching who I was in 2020, I was just a different person. And to see where I am now, that’s impressive. 2020 Riley couldn't probably even finish. He probably would’ve wrecked early in the race just trying too hard.
“I think comparison is the thief of joy, honestly. So yeah, there's very, very talented racecar drivers that have come and gone in this series but everybody walks at a different rate, everybody runs at a different rate. And I knew that if I continued to work on myself and if I continued to improve that I was going to be here, that I can win and I could win in this series. So, I just honestly believe what my grandfather told all of us grandkids as a young kid that hard work always pays off. I don't know when, but it's inevitable and it will pay off.”
Helping to guide Herbst, on track and off, has been former Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick.
“Just calling him and just talking with somebody who's obviously done it at the very, very high level. Just talking about the little things. I remember when I first signed at KHI (Kevin Harvick Incorporated) he sat me down and he's just like, if we're running 15th, finish 15th. That's all we got to do.
“And then once we finished 15th, he wants to try to finish 10th. That’s just small, minor things and I guess that sounds simple now, but when you're a young racecar driver and you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, all you see is people winning ten races a year and you just want to win, win, win, win, win. Your buddies are winning championships and you just don't know what's going on. You just have to take a step back and understand that it's a process and everybody develops at a different rate.”
Riley Herbst kissing the bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after winning Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series race. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
What the future holds for Herbst is undecided at this point. Stewart-Haas Racing is closing down at the end of the year. The new Haas Factory team would like to have him return, but Herbst is weighing his options in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
“I'm looking at opportunities in all three levels,” said Herbst. “I've really relied hard on Kevin Harvick. I've had a lot of talks with Haas Factory and they're going really well. Obviously, they have really fast race cars as you saw today, but I think I'm gonna put my chips on the table with Kevin Harvick and everybody at Kevin Harvick Incorporated and really rely on what they think my next step should be and where I should position myself best for the future.
“I think the biggest thing that gets overlooked is it's not just my decision, right?” Herbst continued. I get information from really strong people that I have a lot of respect for, like Kevin, and I can kind of point the ship in the direction I want. But there's a really big company out in Corona (CA) that has a really big stake in it, Monster Energy. So, that's probably going to be even more of a of a weight than my say, for this decision and then in the offseason we'll see what they want to do next.”
With NASCAR taking a two-week break for the Olympics, Herbst is turning his cell phone off and heading to Europe for a well earned vacation.