At least part of the final decision to Herbst’s plans will be what his longtime sponsor, Monster Energy, wants to do.
When Stewart-Haas Racing co-owners Gene Haas and Tony Stewart announced they were closing the organization at season’s end, it not only sent four Cup drivers looking for new rides, but its two Xfinity drivers as well, including Herbst.
Since the initial decision, Haas has decided to remain in the sport and will field on Cup and two Xfinity teams next year under a new banner – Haas Factory Team.
Current SHR Xfinity driver Cole Custer seems likely headed to the Cup ride – his father, Joe, will run the team – and it’s possible Herbst could remain as a Xfinity driver.
Riley Herbst, Stewart-Haas Racing, Monster Energy Ford Mustang
Photo by: Rusty Jones / NKP / Motorsport Images
Herbst, 25, said Friday at Nashville Superspeedway, that he has options “in all three series.”
“I think there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes, but it’s not really just about Riley Herbst, it’s Monster Energy as well. The biggest thing is trying to see what’s right for me, what’s right for Monster Energy,” he said.
“I have really good people around me with Josh Jones and Kevin Harvick trying to guide me in the right position and I’m going to lean on their experience. I did last year and I’m going to again this year.
There’s a lot of options on the table, so we’re looking forward to everything and hearing everybody out.”
Herbst picked up his first Xfinity series win last year, qualified for the playoffs and finished sixth in the series standings.
While he has had an up-and-down start to the 2024 season, he again finds himself sixth in points and well-positioned for the playoffs, despite lacking a win this year.
“I think it’s super interesting, to be honest with you, because last week was actually our first back-to-back top 10 of the year, which was a big surprise to me,” Herbst said. “That just kind of showed how fast we are to get stage points to be sixth in points.
“I feel like if we could finish where we’ve been running, I felt like we would probably be first or second in points, but we’ve had awful finishes. It just shows how much speed we have because last year we finished really bad and we were really bad in points.
“This year we’re finishing bad and we’re still pretty high in points, so that just means we have to execute and put everything together and I think we can close in on the gap.”
Here to win
Herbst said his most important criteria for his next move in NASCAR is to remain in a “competitive ride.”
“I think that’s the easiest way to learn is to surround yourself with good people and put yourself in good equipment,” he said.
“That’s first and foremost, so I think that’s going to be our priority for us this offseason, where we land, is to be in a ride that’s extremely competitive whether it be in any three series.”