Riley Herbst is in his first season as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver for 23XI Racing after spending the last five years competing full-time in the Xfinity Series.
He spent the last four years competing for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Xfinity Series, and he made select Cup Series starts for Rick Ware Racing and Front Row Motorsports in 2023 and 2024, but he made the move from Ford to Toyota after the 2024 season.
The 26-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native has competed for Toyota before. He competed full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the ARCA Menards Series in 2017 and 2018, and his Xfinity Series career began with Joe Gibbs Racing when he competed part-time in 2018 and 2019. He spent just one full season with the team in 2020 before making the move to Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford in 2021.
Now Herbst is set to return to Joe Gibbs Racing's NASCAR Xfinity Series team.
Herbst is set to make his first start of the 2025 Xfinity Series season this Saturday afternoon at Circuit of the Americas for Joe Gibbs Racing, which have a technical alliance with his 23XI Racing team in the Cup Series. The locations for his other three starts have not yet been confirmed.
🚨 NEWS 🚨 @rileyherbst returns to JGR’s Xfinity Series program for four races in 2025 starting this week at COTA.#NASCAR #racing pic.twitter.com/3DznbVtZth
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) February 25, 2025
This confirmation makes Herbst the fifth confirmed driver of the No. 19 Toyota for the 2025 season. Justin Bonsignore and Aric Almirola, each confirmed for nine races, have already competed in one, and full-time Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Seies drivers Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe have also both confirmed for one each at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, respectively.
Though locations for Almirola's other eight starts, and Herbst's other three, have not yet been announced, Herbst's confirmation for four events mean that the No. 19 car still needs a driver for nine more races this year.
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