2 weeks agoAs usual, Riley Herbst was outqualified by his 23XI veteran teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick on Saturday at Darlington, with Herbst only qualifying 32nd to Wallace's fifth and Reddick's seventh. He was a slow learner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, so it is no surprise that this trend is repeating itself in the Cup Series, especially at a track like Darlington, where experience is more important than anything else. Although he has never made a start at Darlington in the Cup Series, he earned two top-five finishess here in the Xfinity Series in the 2020 summer and 2022 spring events. Given the speed of the Toyotas in general and the 23XI Racing cars in particular, Herbst might be a tempting option for DFS place-differential points, but his inexperience will probably result in a poor finish, so drivers like Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, and Erik Jones would be better options for that.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 weeks agoRiley Herbst qualified 35th at Martinsville, matching his car number in a race where his two 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick both qualified in the top 10. Herbst has never started a NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville before, but he was fairly consistent in the Xfinity Series despite hardly ever leading with five top-10 finishes, including back-to-back top-fives in the fall 2022 and 2023 races. He's not going to be any sort of serious contender by any means due to his inexperience with the Next Gen chassis and his own history as a fairly slow learner, but he'll probably gain positions throughout the race. It's unlikely he'll gain enough positions to score enough place-differential points to make him valuable for DraftKings fantasy lineups, though.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
4 weeks ago23XI Racing driver and Cup Series rookie Riley Herbst will start 19th for this week's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This will be the second time this season that Herbst will start inside the top 20 in a Cup race. Herbst has no previous Cup races at Homestead, but in the Xfinity Series at the site, he has five top-10 finishes and never finished worse than 11th in six starts. After five races so far in the 2025 season, Herbst has four top-20 finishes with a positive Place Differential. In practice, Herbst ranked 17th in overall lap averages while ranking as high as 19th in 30 consecutive lap averages. Despite his solid equipment and consistency for the cheap DFS salary ($5,400) this season, Herbst is difficult to recommend outside of tournament lineups, mainly as his practice speeds suggest he will not move far past his starting position.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
1 month ago23XI Racing's Riley Herbst will start 34th after qualifying for this week's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It will be his first time racing at the site in the Cup Series. In 11 previous Xfinity Series starts at Las Vegas, Herbst has one win and six top-10 finishes while scoring positive Place Differential seven times. Through four races so far this season, Herbst has three top-20 finishes with positive PD earned. In practice, Herbst ranked 27th in 10 consecutive lap averages and 25th in overall lap averages. Based on his enormous upside, Xfinity history, and equipment, Herbst can be a sneaky DFS value play, especially as one of the cheapest drivers to add to lineups this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
RADIO
