It is a problem that likely will stump even the most fervent of auto racing followers:
Who is the only driver to finish in the top rated 10 in his rookie race in every single of NASCAR’s 5 recent disciplines (Cup, Xfinity, Truck, ARCA East and West Collection)?
Dale Earnhardt? Jimmie Johnson? Tony Stewart?
No, nope, nada.
The respond to is Riley Herbst of Las Vegas.
A stunning 10th-spot end in his maiden Cup Collection voyage in the time-opening Daytona 500 kept the streak alive and offered NASCAR admirers with a surefire way to gain a wager over beers or their beverage of selection.
“Cool stat, but just a bar reality,” claimed Herbst, who will generate the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 NASCAR Xfinity Sequence race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “It’s amazing to be the only driver at any time to do that, but I’d like to have some wins as effectively.”
Herbst, 24, has two second-spot Xfinity Collection finishes. He has been quick extra generally than not but has nonetheless to pay a visit to victory lane in 109 starts in NASCAR’s top developmental series.
“I really don’t genuinely see it as disheartening mainly because we have pace. It is just a make any difference of placing it all with each other at the suitable time, the ideal race,” explained the son of off-highway racing star Troy Herbst, and nephew of desert aces Ed and Tim Herbst. Along with their father, Jerry, the brothers were inducted into the Southern Nevada Athletics Corridor of Fame as a quartet in 2014.
Riley Herbst would like practically nothing much better than to get started setting up a Hall of Fame resume of his have beginning Saturday on his hometown track that hasn’t been sort to him. He completed ninth in his first two Xfinity starts off at LVMS but has not had a prime 10 considering that.
“If you hold knocking on the door, the doorway will open,” he explained following posting sixth- and seventh-area finishes in the season’s to start with two races at Daytona and Vehicle Club Speedway in California.
Specifically if he can keep the nose of his car clear and steer apparent of crashes. The normally aggressive Herbst was generally in a position to do that in his Daytona 500 debut, recovering from an early-race spin to go from 38th on the starting grid to 10th in a a person-off generate for the 2nd-tier Rick Ware Racing staff.
“We ended up 19th when the pileup happened in Convert 2,” he stated of the melee in the closing laps that knocked a lot of of the pacesetters out of competition. “We picked our way by means of the carnage and finished up 10th, which is awesome. Variety of surreal to be truthful.”
But, he explained, not as cool and surreal as a earn or two would be this time as he makes an attempt to split into the Cup Series total-time and realize the position at the time predicted for him.
“It’ll imply every little thing, all the hard do the job every person has put in, myself, my relatives, my workforce,” Herbst stated, envisioning a prolonged-awaited victory burnout and celebration. “It’s going to be pretty awesome.”
