Riley Herbst Takes Xfinity Series Win at Indianapolis

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — In one of the most dramatic NASCAR Xfinity Series finishes in recent memory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst took the lead on the final corner of the final lap to capture his first win of the season in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 and officially clinched a spot in the 2024 playoffs.

Three different drivers led the final three laps in the series’ return to the speedway’s famed 2.5-mile oval after four years on the track. Ultimately, the 25-year-old Herbst sidelined his No. 98 SHR Ford out of Turn 4 to power past veteran Aric Almirola and race to a .167-second victory over his SHR teammate Cole Custer and Almirola.

Custer led lap 98. Almirola led lap 99. And Herbst held the lead for the all-important lap, lap 100. The three ran three-wide on the white flag lap, signaling one lap to go, with Almirola taking the white flag first. Herbst caught it and dove low to claim the lead exiting Turn 4 on the following lap, and Custer raced past Almirola in the closing meters to give SHR a 1-2 finish.

“This is Indianapolis, this is the most famous race track in the world and it’s an honor to step in here, let alone win,” said Herbst, whose only other series win came last year at his home track in Las Vegas. “We had speed all year and I felt like we could win. I just kind of messed up on restarts, but I just kept working and kept working.

“I’m proud of these guys. Proud of Stewart-Haas Racing. With the news that we (the current Stewart-Haas Racing team) are closing, these guys obviously could have given up on me and Cole, but they stuck with me and Cole and it’s a back-to-back win for Stewart-Haas Racing.”

The teammates combined to lead 77 of the 100 laps, with Custer’s 47 leading the field. Custer, Saturday’s pole sitter, smiled as he climbed out of his No. 00 SHR Ford and was the first to congratulate Herbst.

“What a great day for SHR. Two cars up front all day, qualified one-two, finished one-two. It was an incredible day for SHR,” said Custer, who started his day with the big announcement that he would be driving a single-car NASCAR Cup Series race for the new Haas Factory Team next year.

The reigning champion, who took his first win of 2024 last week in Pocono, Pennsylvania, still leads the standings and with his second-place finish he now has a 56-point lead over JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, who finished ninth on Saturday.

The former full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, Almirola, 40, was making his first Xfinity Series start since May 11 and finished third in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver was also among the first to congratulate Herbst on the hard-fought victory.

“They (Herbst and Custer) were the best in the field, but I knew if they went racing there was going to be a chance to steal it and I took the lead and I thought and just got too tight in (Turn) 3 and he got back inside me,” Almirola said, adding, “Those guys deserve it. I know all the guys on the team. It’s a great group of guys and I’m proud and happy for those guys.”

Rookie Shane Van Gisbergen, the former Australian SuperCars champion, finished a strong fourth after opting for fresh tires on a final pit stop and making an inspired final restart with 10 laps to go. A three-time winner at a circuit this season, fourth was his best finish on an oval since a third-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February.

“It’s tough and I’m still learning and I’m probably still a little too conservative, but I feel like the car has gotten better and I’ve gotten better,” Van Gisbergen said. “This Xfinity Series is so much fun, the way the cars move and the way they all slide.

“I had a great time.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed was fifth. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, who started from the back after some last-minute adjustments to his Chevrolet, recovered to sixth.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Daniel Dye was seventh, followed by two-time Indy winner AJ Allmendinger, Allgaier and 21-year-old Carson Kvapil, who was making his sixth start this year for JR Motorsports.

It was perhaps a fittingly dramatic end to a race that had gotten off to a tumultuous start with a 12-car crash that took several cars out of the race early on. JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer, a two-time winner of this year’s race, spun after a three-wide move in Turn 3, hitting multiple cars and damaging more as they tried to avoid him.

Full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Josh Berry, driving the No. 15 AM Racing Ford, was among those in the melee and was officially scored last. He and Mayer failed to complete a single lap.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith retired on lap 37, his No. 81 Toyota unable to recover from the damage from the opening-lap incident.

RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg holds a slim three-point lead over JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith for the final transfer position in the Playoff points, with six races remaining to determine the 12-driver Playoff field.

The sport of NASCAR will take a two-week hiatus during the Olympics, with the Xfinity Series returning to competition on Aug. 17 at Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 (USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). John Hunter Nemechek won the 2023 race.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Pennzoil 250 presented by Advance Auto Parts

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Highway, Indiana

Saturday, July 20, 2024

1. (2) Riley Herbst, Ford, 100.

2. (1) Cole Custer, Ford, 100.

3. (3) Aric Almirola, Toyota, 100.

4. (23) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 100.

5. (12) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 100.

6. (14) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 100.

7. (22) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 100.

8. (8) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 100.

9. (9) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 100.

10. (7) Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 100.

11. (27) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 100.

12. (38) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 100.

13. (15) Jesse Love #, Chevrolet, 100.

14. (16) Conor Daly, Toyota, 100.

15. (6) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 100.

16. (29) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 100.

17. (17) Joe Graf Jr., Toyota, 100.

18. (21) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 100.

19. (11) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 100.

20. (25) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, 100.

21. (30) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 100.

22. (31) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 100.

23. (34) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 100.

24. (35) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 100.

25. (28) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 100.

26. (36) David Starr, Ford, 100.

27. (32) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 100.

28. (33) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 100.

29. (24) Blaine Perkins, Ford, 100.

30. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 99.

31. (26) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 97.

32. (37) Greg Van Alst, Chevrolet, Ignition, 91.

33. (13) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 86.

34. (5) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Accident, 83.

35. (20) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, Accident, 83.

36. (19) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Accident, 83.

37. (4) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, Accident, 0.

38. (10) Josh Berry(i), Ford, Accident, 0.

Average speed of race winner: 101.26 mph.

Race time: 2 hours, 28 minutes and 8 seconds. Margin of victory: 0.167 seconds.

Caution flags: 7 for 29 laps.

Lead changes: 12 of the 6 drivers.

Leaders of the rounds: C. Custer 1-17;R. Herbst 18-31;B. Jones 32-41;C. Custer 42-57;R. Sieg 58-61;A. Almirola 62-65;R. Herbst 66-71;A. Allmendinger 72-75;C. Custer 76-80;R. Herbst 81-89;C. Custer 90-98;A. Almirola 99;R. Herbs 100.

Leaders summary (driver, times lead, laps led): Cole Custer 4 times for 47 laps; Riley Herbst 4 times for 30 laps; Brandon Jones 1 time for 10 laps; Aric Almirola 2 times for 5 laps; Ryan Sieg 1 time for 4 laps; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 4 laps.

Phase #1 Top Ten: 98,16,39,9,7,00,48,20,88,38

Phase #2 Top Ten: 39,20,98,16,7,00,97,21,42,18

–By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.