Getty Riley Herbst (Front) races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series season has featured Austin Hill, Sammy Smith, and John Hunter Nemechek celebrating wins. Meanwhile, a sneaky contender has been consistent with top-10 finishes.
Riley Herbst, the driver of the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang, crossed the finish line fourth overall at Phoenix Raceway on March 11. This was his fourth consecutive top-10 finish of the season and his first top-five. It was also his seventh consecutive top-10 finish dating back to the 2022 playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Showed a lot of speed and stayed out of the dust-ups.
The No. 98 leaves the desert in P4.
The reason Herbst’s season falls under the “sneaky” category is that he hasn’t been the center of attention. Other drivers have stolen the spotlight while he has just consistently put himself in the top 10 and avoided on-track incidents.
“We had a fast No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang today,” Herbst said after the race, per Stewart-Haas Racing. “Probably the best car that I’ve had at Phoenix. Man, I wish we could’ve gotten up front. I had fun though.
“You’re always racing for a win, and that’s what we did. We found some luck there at the end and ended up with our first top-five of the season. I’m proud of this team and how far we’ve come.”
Herbst Walked Away With Crucial Points
GettyRiley Herbst (front) has put together a solid start to the season.
Herbst hasn’t celebrated in Victory Lane during the 2023 Xfinity Series season, nor has he done so in a national NASCAR series. What he has done has continued to gain experience while making appearances in the playoffs.
The 2022 season served as a fitting example. Herbst turned in a career-best season with 20 top-10 finishes and eight top-fives. He ended the year 10th in the championship standings, which was an improvement over both 2021 (11th) and 2020 (12th).
The race at Phoenix on March 11 was another opportunity for Herbst to put together a consistent performance. He took advantage by finishing fourth in Stage 1 and eighth in Stage 2. This gave him 10 bonus points, which will come into play as the playoffs approach.
Herbst is now solidly above the cutline after four races with 155 points. This puts him in a tie for fourth overall with rookie Chandler Smith. They are both one point behind Justin Allgaier, 10 behind John Hunter Nemechek, and 40 behind Austin Hill.
A Wild Card Is Next on the Xfinity Series Schedule
GettyRiley Herbst watches practice at Phoenix Raceway.
Herbst kicked off his season with a pair of top-10 finishes at Daytona — one in his Cup Series debut and one in the Xfinity Series. He then stockpiled finishes during the West Coast swing of the 2023 Xfinity Series schedule.
The next challenge is a mini-superspeedway. Herbst and the Xfinity Series drivers will head to the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is a wild card event. The competitors know how their cars handle after two trips to the Georgia track in 2022, but they also know that there will some big crashes.
For Herbst, he has another opportunity to turn in a strong performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He managed to complete both events at the mini-superspeedway. He finished fourth in the spring race — the first for the Xfinity Series after the reconfiguration — and then he finished ninth during the summer race.
Herbst will make his third start on the mini-superspeedway version of Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 18. He will attempt to complete all 163 laps while securing points in each stage. If he can add another top-10 finish to his total, he will gain crucial points and keep himself on the path to the playoffs.