Daring last-lap pass powers Riley Herbst to victory in Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — Riley Herbst passed Aric Almirola coming around the final turn on Saturday and then held off aggressive teammate Cole Custer to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250.

Herbst’s second career victory came by 0.167 seconds to give Stewart-Haas Racing a second straight win. He also won at his home track in Las Vegas in October.

This time, however, it took Herbst three turns of chasing down Almirola on the final lap before he finally got close enough to touch Almirola with his front bumper, shoot in and pass him for the lead as Herbst’s car slid.

Custer was second after reaching victory lane for the first time this season last week at Pocono. Almirola was third and was also passed by Custer, who passed him on the inside of the straight before hitting the bricks of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The race was held at Indy’s 2.5-mile oval for the first time since the speedway moved to its 14-turn circuit in 2019.