Joe Gibbs Racing's schedule for the No. 19 Toyota during the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is slowly but surely coming together.
After announcing that Aric Almirola is set to drive the car in nine races, they have now confirmed the return of Riley Herbst, who most recently competed for the team as a full-time driver in 2020.
Herbst is in his first season competing full-time in the Cup Series for 23XI Racing, a Toyota team that operates with a Joe Gibbs Racing technical alliance. Herbst spent the last four seasons competing for Stewart-Haas Racing's Ford team in the Xfinity Series.
Herbst becomes Joe Gibbs Racing's fifth confirmed driver for No. 19 Toyota
The 26-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native is set to compete in four Xfinity Series races this season, including this coming Saturday afternoon's Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas.
🚨 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
Herbst is the fifth driver confirmed as a part of the No. 19 Toyota's "star car" lineup for the 2025 season. Justin Bonsignore opened up the year at Daytona International Speedway and is set to compete in eight more races, while Almirola competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is set to compete in eight more races.
With Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe also confirmed for one race each, Herbst's confirmation means that the No. 19 car needs a driver for just nine more races. Having said that, locations for Almirola's remaining eight starts, plus Herbst's remaining three after this weekend, have not yet been announced.
Herbst is no stranger to Joe Gibbs Racing or Toyota, having competed for the team full-time in the ARCA Menards Series in 2017 and 2018 and part-time in the Xfinity Series in 2018 and 2019 before competing full-time in 2020.
The CW Network is set to provide live coverage of the Focused Health 250 from Circuit of the Americas beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET this Saturday, March 1. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!