Riley Herbst might be gearing up to run the Baja 1000 now that the NASCAR Xfinity Series season is over, but his Stewart-Haas Racing decided to give him a good-luck present beforehand in the form of a contract extension. On Tuesday, SHR announced Herbst will return to the #98 Ford Mustang for the 2023 season.
2022 saw Herbst’s best season to date in the Xfinity Series as he scored twenty top-ten finishes, eight top fives, and a pole at Nashville en route to placing tenth in the standings. He improved in every statistical category, including recording seven more top tens than in 2021. He also ran two races in the Truck Series for David Gilliland Racing, finishing twelfth in both at Daytona and Kansas. He has a pair of top fives in eleven career Truck starts.
Herbst joined SHR in 2021 after spending the previous three years, two of which were part-time slates, with Joe Gibbs Racing. Although he has yet to win a race, his improved performance has allowed for back-to-back playoff appearances.
Although having ride stability is certainly welcome, Herbst likely has his eyes on the Baja 1000 where he is sharing the #264 Trophy Truck Spec with cousin Pierce. He also ran the previous two editions with Pierce and fellow cousin Thor Herbst, finishing second in class in 2020 and ninth in 2021. Herbst hails from a family rooted in off-road history, and his uncle Tim is also competing at the 1000 in a Trophy Truck.
Herbst is the second Monster Energy driver with good news on Tuesday as Xfinity colleague Ty Gibbs moves up to the Cup Series.