The Loop 110
Approaching 10 to go in the regular season, Riley Herbst sits in eighth place in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Standings. Obviously, the Las Vegas, Nevada native is looking for a win, but solid finishes are keeping him on the right track.
Entering the Chicago Street Race, Herbst has an average finish of 14.8. This includes eight top-10 finishes, three of which have been top fives.
Herbst lined up for the 50 lap race with a starting spot of P20 at Chicago. He looked to better his average finish with help from his crew chief, Davin Restivo, spotter, Joe Campbell, and the No. 98 pit crew.
Stage 1
As the green flag waved, it was an immediate battle between Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen. But before drivers could start Lap 2, the field went to single file and Herbst was sitting P15.
Over the next two laps, all was quiet on the No. 98 radio as Herbst maintained P15. On Lap 5, Chandler Smith was starting to leak fluid all over the course and it appeared his engine was about to blow. In the midst of this chaos, Herbst worked his way to P12.
Lap 7 saw Matt DiBenedetto go for a spin. He left debris on the track which brought out the first caution of the race.
Herbst noted he could use “a little more drive,” and Restivo shared what he could see from the data and on track.
The restart came with five to go in Stage 1 and Herbst in P12. At the green, Herbst gained a spot by getting around Parker Retzlaff.
With three to go, Herbst was spun by the No 18 of Sheldon Creed. This shuffled him back to P33. Herbst immediately radioed in noting he was having major trouble steering. Restivo asked him to nurse it as long as he could.
The stage ended with Herbst in P32 and the team immediately made a plan to get the No. 98 back in racing form.
Got spun. Damage control time. pic.twitter.com/XnLTKr4tQg
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) July 6, 2024
Stage 2
Herbst brought his No. 98 to the pits for massive repairs. Once all was said and done, the Stewart-Haas Racing team returned Herbst to the track for the start of Stage 2 on Lap 4.
Once again, it was an SVG vs. Larson battle at the front. Meanwhile, Herbst was hustling to catch up to the field following his lengthy stop. Once he did, he was running P29 with eyes forward.
Within two laps, he gained three more spots, and another lap saw another spot.
Sitting P25, the caution waved as AJ Allmendinger nailed the tire barrier in Turn 6.
This allowed Herbst to move up to P22. He noted, “I know I’m in junk back here, but the car is pretty good!” The team opted to pit and get fresh tires and fuel.
The caution forced some mixed strategy for the field and Riley was in P24 with five to go in the second stage. He gained three spots in the subsequent laps, and found himself in P18 with three to go.
At the stage end, he had gained three more spots to be scored P15. He said, “I feel like I’m doing okay, Davin (Restivo),” and his crew chief agreed. After that, the two discussed the incident with Creed and how the car had handled since the adjustments.
Then, Restivo reminded his driver about focusing forward and forgetting about the incident for now.
Stage 3
Once the stage break pit stops cycled through, Herbst found himself in P13 for the start of the final stage with a reminder from Restivo, “All out front.”
On the opening lap, Herbst gained a spot but before he could make more ground, a five car stack up brought out the caution.
Restivo encouraged his driver under caution, “We can come out of here with a top 10 today,” and noted it would be impressive, “Considering.”
Once the course was cleaned up, the racing resumes with 11 to go. Herbst found himself in P12, with only Joey Logano and John Hunter Nemechek sitting between him and the top 10.
Immediately, the caution was in the air. This time for another massive pileup. Meanwhile, Preston Pardus was stuck in Turn 2 with no power.
Through the wire 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qh3oOfvVmd
— Riley Herbst (@rileyherbst) July 7, 2024
Heartache for Herbst
Suddenly, Herbst radioed in, “This motor is hurt. As soon as I start running, it climbs to 260, 270.” Restivo said, “Take care of it best you can.”
Once again, Herbst restarted in the 12th position, taking the green with eight to go.
Within a lap, Herbst fell to P15 and Restivo radioed, “We’re definitely down on power.”
Despite this, he regained a spot, and Campbell said, “It runs fine, but when he shifts, it puffs smoke.” Herbst faced seven laps remaining and was maintaining P14.
The seventh caution came with six to go as Leland Honeyman, Jr., was stuck in the tire barrier. Herbst was in P18 and the team debated pitting during the caution to pop the hood and see what was going on internally. He said, “It drives fine, I just don’t have any water pressure.”
Restivo ultimately said, “When it opens, we’ll pit and put water in it.” But, before that could happen, SHR teammate Cole Custer relayed information to the No. 98 team that there was “definitely smoke” coming from the Monster Energy car.
As Herbst attempted to leave pit road, Restivo said, “We’re blowing up.” Herbst backed it to his pit stall and started to take his car to the garage, but the team said, “Send it!” He returned to the track and had barely made any ground when the race went green. Immediately Sam Mayer weny spinning, but the race went green.
The No. 98 was smoke again and Restivo said, “We’ll be lucky to make it.”
With two to go, Restivo called his driver to pit road and that is where he’d end the day, in P28 with a motor that was barely hanging on.
Restivo thanked the team and apologized for the events that led to a lackluster finish.
For a full The Loop 110 recap, click here.
Sponsor Shoutout + Driver & Team Socials
Finally, NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to Monster Energy who played a huge part of the weekend for Riley and the No. 98 team.
Be sure to give Riley(Facebook, Instagram, X) and Stewart-Haas Racing (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
