NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview
• Event: Food City 300 (Round 26 of 33)
• Date: Friday, Sept. 17
• Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
• Layout: .533-mile oval
• Time/TV/Radio: 7:30 p.m. EDT on NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Riley Herbst Notes of Interest
• Following the July 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Riley Herbst was 54 points outside of the top-12 cutoff to make the NASCAR Playoffs. But in the seven races that followed, Herbst scored five top-10 finishes to not only erase that deficit, but secure a 66-point margin heading in the regular-season finale Friday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. If the driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang emerges from the Food City 300 with a 55-point margin over the 13th-place driver in points, Herbst will advance to the NASCAR Playoffs regardless of who wins.
• The NASCAR Playoffs are built on a win-and-you’re-in mentality. If there’s a new winner this season, they’ll automatically punch their playoff ticket. Herbst is one such driver. While winless on the year, Herbst is coming off a strong fifth-place drive in the series’ prior race last Saturday at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Should Herbst improve that finishing position by just four spots, he’ll have his first career Xfinity Series win in one hand and a playoff berth in the other.
• But what happens if there’s another new winner this season, specifically, one who comes from outside the top-12 in points? For Herbst, this is where the 55-point margin comes in. He needs to be ahead of the fifth winless driver this season by 55 points. Those winless drivers, in order of their respective point standing, are Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Jones and Herbst. Why the fifth winless driver? In the event a new winner outside the top-12 wins on Friday night, the fifth winless driver will be the lone driver bumped from the playoffs. When the checkered flag drops, a 55-point advantage over the 13th-place driver will secure Herbst’s playoff spot, no matter who wins.
• Herbst is racing for the win, but there’s a race within the race when it comes to the playoffs. Jones is just one point ahead of Herbst, so if Herbst is running two spots ahead of him during the Food City 300, Jones is on the playoff bubble. Clements is eight points ahead of Herbst, so if Herbst is running nine spots ahead of him during the race, Clements goes to the playoff bubble. Tired of the math and all the what-if scenarios? Just go with win-and-you’re-in.
• Stewart-Haas Racing is the defending winner of the Food City 300. Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 Ford Mustang to victory in last year’s race, beating Ross Chastain by .651 of a second.
• The Food City 300 will mark Herbst’s third career Xfinity Series start at Bristol. In his first Xfinity Series start at the track in June 2020, Herbst led four laps and was on his way to a top-10 until an accident took him out just 47 laps shy of the checkered flag. Herbst bounced back in his second start at the track last September with a solid 10th-place effort. Herbst also has three Bristol starts outside of the Xfinity Series – two in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His best finish was 10th, earned in his first K&N Pro Series start in 2016.
Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
The final race of the regular season is here. What are your thoughts heading into Bristol as you sit 66 points above the playoff cutline?
“Bristol’s a tough track and it’s fast. A lot can happen quickly there, so it can be nerve-racking when you think about entering a cutoff race for the playoffs. I had a strong run there in 2020, but it’s all about staying out of trouble. We have to stay focused and grow our lead even more. I think the final few spots in the playoffs are really close, so we can even move up in the standings this weekend if we do what we have to do.”
A string of strong finishes not only erased a 54-point deficit, but gave you a 66-point buffer over the playoff cutline. How did you do it?
“The beginning of the season was rough for us. With joining a new team, we were all trying to learn each other and, on top of that, bad luck always found us on track. In the past seven races, we’ve really seen a complete turnaround by showing that we’re fast and can compete with the leaders. We had the one hiccup at Darlington, but we came back at Richmond to score a top-five finish. Honestly, if we had more time at Richmond, I think we could’ve stolen the win. I’m proud of this team and we deserve to be in the playoffs.”
Upon securing a playoff berth, you’d start your championship run next week at your home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. What would that mean to you?
“It would be awesome. You always want to run well when you’re racing at a home track, but to come back after the run we had in the spring and see how far we’ve come is amazing. We still have to get through Bristol, but I’m excited for the opportunity to put myself in the playoffs for the second straight year and start off the seven-race postseason at my home track. We’ve got to stay focused, though.”
No. 98 Monster Energy Team Roster
Primary Team Members:
Driver: Riley Herbst
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
Crew Chief: Richard Boswell
Hometown: Friendship, Maryland
Engineer: Justin Bolton
Hometown: Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Engineer: DJ VanderLey
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Crew:
Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois
Rear Tire Changer: Chris Jackson
Hometown: Fort Mill, South Carolina
Tire Carrier: Chad Emmons
Hometown: Tyler, Texas
Fueler: James Keener
Hometown: Fortuna, California
Jackman: Brandon Banks
Hometown: High Point, North Carolina
Road Crew Members:
Truck Driver: Steve Wood
Hometown: Eatontown, New Jersey
Front End Mechanic: Mike Brill
Hometown: Woodsville, New Hampshire
Engine Tuner: Willie Pelotte
Hometown: Oakland, Maine
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
