Riley Herbst Moves to NASCAR Cup Series as 23XI Expands to Three Cars
Riley Herbst, who has recorded three wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series over the last two seasons, will officially move to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2025. Herbst has joined 23XI Racing, which will expand to three full-time cars in the upcoming year.
On Wednesday, 23XI Racing announced Herbst would pilot the No. 35 Toyota Camry XSE for the organization in 2025, and will carry primary sponsorship from longtime partner Monster Energy. Davin Restivo, who was at the helm for all three of Herbst's NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, will serve as the crew chief for the effort.
Welcome to the family #forwardtogether #teamtoyota pic.twitter.com/wegE9Mw5vY
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) November 20, 2024
Monster Energy, which has backed Herbst since the beginning of his racing career, is excited to see the driver continue up the NASCAR ladder, and is happy to be along for the ride.
“Riley Herbst has built his career with Monster Energy and he is part of the Family,” said Mitch Covington, Monster Energy’s SVP of Sports Marketing. “From his ascent to championship-caliber driver in the Xfinity Series to his next step into the premier NASCAR Cup Series, Monster and Riley have been in it together – and we are just thrilled to power into this phase of his incredible career with him.”
Herbst was in the rumor mill throughout the season as many expected him to land at 23XI Racing as the team was expected to acquire a third Charter heading into the 2025 season. However, an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR put 23XI Racing's expansion plan on hold, and led Herbst to publicly declare that he was, "Not confident," about his 2025 plans in September.
A few months later, the uncertainty has subsided, and Herbst can officially check off a long awaited goal.
“It’s an honor to join 23XI and Toyota for the opportunity to race in the Cup Series each week,” said Herbst. “Racing full-time in the Cup Series has been my goal since I started in NASCAR and I’m excited to start my Cup career with such an accomplished and driven team. What 23XI has accomplished in a short time is impressive and I look forward to building on their success as the organization grows. It’s also great to continue representing Monster and I’m excited about adding to their legacy in NASCAR.”
23XI Racing is elated to add Herbst and Restivo to what the organization already feels was already a solid foundation that they've built through their first four seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“As 23XI enters our fifth season next year, we felt the time was right to continue the growth of our organization by adding a third team, and Riley is a driver we think will be a great fit for us,” said Steve Lauletta, 23XI Team President. “We have a very solid foundation with both Bubba and Tyler, and we know they will be a great resource for Riley as he begins his journey in the Cup Series.”
Herbst, 25, is a native of Las Vegas, and first went full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020. As a rookie driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Herbst recorded four top-five finishes and 17 top-10s, but piled up eight DNFs which hampered his overall season. Herbst would finish 12th in the championship standings in his rookie campaign.
The young racer would move to Stewart-Haas Racing in the 2021 season, where he would hone his racing craft.
Near the end of the 2023 season, Herbst would pick up his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win in dominating fashion as he would lead 103 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and would cross the finish line ahead of John Hunter Nemechek by a whopping 14.959 seconds.
This past season, Herbst proved that his massive win at Las Vegas was no fluke as he scored a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series return to the iconic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval layout, and he would cap off the 2024 campaign with a dominant performance at Phoenix Raceway. Herbst would lead 167 laps and would get around Justin Allgaier on the final restart for the race win.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.