Riley Herbst signs with Stewart-Haas Racing

NASCAR driver jumps ship from Toyota to sign with Ford

In 2021, Riley Herbst will move to Stewart-Haas Racing. He’ll pilot the No. 98 Ford Mustang during the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with primary sponsorship from Monster Energy.

Between 2018-2020, Herbst ran with Joe Gibbs Racing. Last year, it was his first year as a full time driver.

Now, the 21-year-old from Las Vegas makes the jump from Toyota to Ford.

“Being on a team with such a strong run of success is the kind of opportunity every driver wants,” Herbst said.

Herbst added, “Expectations are definitely high, but the highest expectations are the ones I’ve set for myself. I’m proud to be a part of Stewart-Haas Racing and I can’t wait to climb into that No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang next year.”

Herbst started racing go karts at age 5. In 2006, he moved to off-road racing. At age 10, he circled back to asphalt oval racing via Legends cars. He then transitioned to super late models. In 2016, he ran with the K&N Pro Series. In 2017, he ran the ARCA Menards Series. 2018, he made his debut in the NASCAR Truck Series as well as the NASCAr Xfinity Series.

Monster Energy re-joins Stewart-Haas Racing.

“We have been a part of Riley’s racing career since it started and we are genuinely excited about rejoining Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Mitch Covington, vice president of sports marketing, Monster Energy. “We saw Riley’s potential early on and it’s been proven by how quickly he has adapted to stock cars. He’s a next-generation talent with all the resources to succeed.”

Related: Stewart says other NASCAR OEM’s are ruining careers with their driver development program

Riley Herbst - 98 Ford
Riley Herbst – 98 Ford

Stewart-Haas Racing comments on Riley Herbst

“Riley has really just scratched the surface of his potential,” said Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition, SHR. “He reminds us a lot of Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe – two drivers who came to SHR’s Xfinity Series program with plenty of potential who then realized that potential and, between the two of them, won a lot of races and are now in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

Zipadelli added, “Riley has the talent to emulate what Cole and Chase did in our equipment and we’re going into 2021 with the expectation that we’ll celebrate his first Xfinity Series win together.”

Stewart-Haas Racing has 21 NXS victories as a team. Their Xfinity program was sent on hiatus following the 2006 season. It was re-opened for Cole Custer in 2017.

“We built the Xfinity Series program to develop talent and ultimately win with that talent,” Stated team co-owner Tony Stewart. “It’s a proven path to the NASCAR Cup Series, and we feel that Riley has the ability to win and grow within our race team.”

In 43 Xfinity starts, Herbst has collected 21 top-10s. However, he’s yet to find victory lane.

Related: Toyota Racing rebuts criticism from Tony Stewart

Related: Daniel Hemric to Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 in Xfinity Series

Riley Herbst
2021 Car

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Riley Herbst | Ford Performance | Stewart-Haas Racing | NASCAR

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