Riley Herbst

Racing career

Riley Herbst got his start in racing at age five, driving karts before moving up through legends cars, Speed Trucks, and Super Late Models. In 2015, he raced a Super Late Model weekly at Irwindale Speedway and also won the track’s Speed Trucks championship. The next year, he ran several NASCAR East and West Series events while continuing to race a Super Late Model at Irwindale. His family has deep roots in off-road racing: his father Troy, grandfather Jerry, and uncles Ed and Tim compete in desert races like the Baja 500 and Baja 1000, and the four were inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

As a youth, Herbst raced in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ Junior 1 Kart division. In 2020, he teamed up with his cousins Pierce and Thor for the Baja 1000, finishing second in the Trophy Truck Spec class; the trio placed ninth in the 2021 race. Herbst, his father Troy, and Jordan Dean won the Trophy Truck Spec class in the 2023 Baja 1000, taking eighth overall. In 2017, he drove full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the ARCA Racing Series, winning one race at Pocono and earning Rookie of the Year honors.

He split JGR’s No. 18 in the Xfinity Series in 2019 before taking over full-time in 2020, making the playoffs and finishing 12th in points with four top-fives and 17 top-tens. After that season, JGR signed Daniel Hemric to drive the No. 18, leaving Herbst without a ride.

Motorsports career results

Herbst's career results include a win at Pocono in the ARCA Racing Series in 2017, where he also earned five top-fives and ten top-tens. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020, he recorded four top-five finishes and seventeen top-tens, with a best finish of second at Auto Club Speedway and Kentucky Speedway.