Putting an exclamation mark on the end of his five NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing, Riley Herbst led 167 laps to motor to victory in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Shortly after that, 23XI Racing announced that it was tapping Herbst to drive its No. 35 Monster Energy Toyota in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series.
The 25-year-old fills us in on how it all came about, and what’s next….
You’re now a full-time Cup racer. Just how does that feel?
“It’s awesome. It’s been a lifelong dream, for sure, to have a full-time ride in the Cup series. We worked really hard at it. It’s exciting and I can’t wait to get to Daytona.”
When Stewart-Haas Racing announced its impending closure, you were, in essence, left in no-man’s land. Was that a tough time for you?
“A little bit. It was just because I didn’t know what was going to happen. I know I had good people around me, but just the outcome was kind of uncertain. So that’s where the nervousness came from. Like, we heard the rumors about SHR back in March, and so we worked with everybody to try and find a good landing spot for next year and I think we found the best spot possible. It’s been a heck of a process and I’m just so grateful for the opportunity that I have in front of me.”
What did you think of the 23XI Racing team before you became a part of it?
“Well, just watching with Kurt Busch and Tyler Reddick and everybody, I could see just really fast race cars, and a really fast team. So obviously I thought that team was top notch, and just to be mentioned in that name with that team is awesome, and hopefully we can capitalize on the opportunity now.”
Do you know Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace at all?
“I’ve met them in passing, but I don’t know them. I’ve just seen them around the track and whatnot but yeah, I’m gonna grow that relationship with them and I am excited for the future.”
Have you been by the 23XI Racing Airspeed race shop?
“Yeah, I went to the shop one time. It’s world class. It’s so beautiful — really, really pretty. And it’s very advanced technology thinking, forward thinking, which is really cool to see in our NASCAR industry.”
You’ve done eight Cup races. Did you get any kind of read off of them?
“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’m excited for the resources I have, and to continue to learn. It’s a huge change, for sure, so it’s gonna be a lot of work but I’ve got really good people around me to get me ready. I’m excited for the challenge.
“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. I’m excited about who I’ve become as a race car driver, about all the hard work I’ve put in the last couple years in the Xfinity Series.”
Looking back on your Xfinity Series career, how would you sum that up?
“It was a lot of learning in the beginning but the last year and a half, man, I felt like we’re as good as anybody. We had a lot of speed, and we won those races pretty handedly, so it’s cool to see that and to go out on top at Phoenix, to win and to beat everybody in the championship race, was pretty special.”
Herbst took the checkered flag first at Phoenix to sign off with Stewart-Haas Racing in the Xfinity Series. John Harrelson/Motorsport Images
Your crew chief Davin Restivo is coming with you into Cup too.
“Yeah, Davin’s a young, eager person like myself. He’s been in the Cup Series before as an engineer, so excited for him to take this journey, and he’s already at the shop, working, preparing for next year, which is exciting for me.”
What’s it like to be back with Toyota
“Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the Toyota building. That organization is first class, so excited for all the resources that they can help me to develop and to become a better driver. Just excited — I keep saying it, but I truly am that just, there’s so much good stuff in front of us.”
How important is it to be coming out of Xfinity as a race winner?
“Yeah, that’s the biggest thing. Knowing you can win is everything in the sport and really good people surrounding me is also very important.”
Who’s been helping you as you started to gravitate towards Cup? Anybody been lending a hand?
“Kevin Harvick, a bunch. Just with his knowledge and his wisdom. He’s been to the peak of the 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.”
As far as goals and expectations, how can you do? What’s going to make you happy as we look to Daytona and the rest of the 2025 Cup schedule?
“It’s going to be a learning process. I think it’s going to be extremely difficult, but I’m set for the challenges ahead. I think there’s going to be some really good days and I think there’s going to be some hard days, hard learning days, but that’s a part of racing, so I’m excited. I want to complete all the laps. I want to learn as much as I can. I want to learn every single time I’m in the race car, from my teammates, from everybody around Toyota, just try to be better and better.”
Seems you’ve improved every year — more competitive, more confident, you get faster. That should serve you well.
“I sure hope so. The grueling schedule like that, you gotta be strong minded and confident in who you are and just continue to get better. That’s our main goals. We want to be better next week than we were the previous week, and if we do that every week, and I think we’ll have a very solid year and something to be proud of.”
You ran the Baja 1000 last weekend. How cool was that to go down there and win the Trophy Truck Spec classification with your family? What did that mean to you?
“Yeah, it’s special. My family’s been going down there since the ’60s. So to go down there and continue the tradition, and that’s back-to-back wins for the Herbst family. It’s just so special to go down there with your cousins and your uncles and your dad and go have a good time. And on top of that, go win the race. So yeah, I’m proud of my cousins from winning the championship in that division, and hopefully we can go do it again next year.”
But now it’s time to go Cup racing…
“Yeah, it’s been a lifelong dream so everybody’s been pulling the rope in the same direction. We’ve all done this together. It hasn’t just been myself; it’s been my whole family. So it’s just really cool. Everybody at Monster Energy has been along every step of the way, so it’s a weight off the shoulders. But now it’s time to go to work.”
