Monster Energy Racing: Riley Herbst Road America NXS Advance

Riley Herbst Notes of Interest

•  Road-course racing has become a staple of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, especially of late. Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, has accumulated all seven of his road-course starts in the last year. The 22-year-old racer from Las Vegas made his first Xfinity Series start on a road course on July 4, 2020 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His best road-course finish is seventh, earned last August on the layout inside the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway oval.

•  Herbst has four other road-course starts outside of the Xfinity Series. His best result came in August 2017 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, when he finished second in the ARCA Menards Series race.

•  Saturday’s Henry 180 at Road America will mark Herbst’s 60th career Xfinity Series start and his second at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course. He has earned six top-fives and 25 top-10s dating back to his first career start on June 17, 2018 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, where Herbst finished an impressive sixth.

•  After making the move to SHR at the conclusion of the 2020 season, Herbst now drives for the team that has won two road-course races in the past three years. Chase Briscoe, the previous driver of the No. 98 Ford Mustang, scored both victories – September 2018 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval and August 2020 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition, the No. 98 Ford Mustang has never finished outside the top-10 at Road America.

Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

We’re heading back to a road course with Road America on the schedule for this weekend. You scored a runner-up finish there in the 2017 ARCA Menards Series race. Does that help your confidence heading into the weekend?

“I definitely had a good run at Road America back in 2017. It’s a fun track and I’m excited to get back there this weekend. My first race in the Xfinity Series didn’t go how I would’ve liked, but we have a chance to practice and qualify this weekend, so hopefully that’ll help us on Saturday. We’ve had the speed this season, now we just need to put it all together and get a win so we can secure our spot in the playoffs this fall.”

Practice and qualifying are a part of this enhanced race weekend at Road America. How beneficial is this for you and the team?

“We learn a lot in these practice and qualifying sessions. I feel like we’ve had some pretty good races this year when we’ve had these sessions. You learn a lot about your team and they learn about what I need out of the car that weekend. It helps boost confidence if you have a fast car. It really helps us put the pieces of the puzzle together as we head into some of these tracks where I have limited experience.”

There have been a lot of ups and downs for you this season on road courses. What do you need at Road America to have a strong weekend for the No. 98 team?

“We need luck to be on our side this weekend. We’ve had a roller coaster of a season and, unfortunately, there have been quite a few times where we’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. With that said, we’re learning what we can every race and moving forward to try and put strong runs together. I’m thankful to have the support of the No. 98 team and everyone at Monster Energy. Hopefully, I can get a win for them in Road America.”

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