Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) began Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway third after a strong qualifying effort Friday afternoon. Herbst maintained his position in the top-five for the entirety of the first stage to earn six bonus points, and he restarted third for the second stage. While battling for position within the top-three, the Monster Energy driver was spun on lap 25 by Josh Berry of the No. 8 entry, sending Herbst to the back of the lead pack. Herbst’s Mustang sustained minimal damage, allowing him to power his way through the field over the remaining 37 laps to pick up his sixth-place result. It was his 13th top-10 of the season and his career best at Indianapolis.
Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Our Monster Energy Ford Mustang was really good. I was doing everything I could to take care of it and make it to the end so we could have a shot at challenging for a win, but that spin in stage two changed our plan. I’m proud of the guys for the work they put in to make this car so good. I wish we had a few more laps. We probably could’ve gotten another top-five, but it was a good day overall.”
Notes:
● Herbst earned his 13th top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Indianapolis.
● Herbst’s sixth-place finish bettered his best finish at Indianapolis – eighth, earned last August.
● Herbst finished fifth in Stage 1 to collect six bonus points.
● AJ Allmendinger won the Indianapolis 150 at the Brickyard to score his 13th career Xfinity Series victory, his third of the season, and his first at Indianapolis. His margin over second-place Alex Bowman was 2.084 seconds
● There were four caution periods for a total of 11 laps.
● Thirty-one of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Allmendinger remains the championship leader after Indianapolis with a 17-point advantage over second-place Justin Allgaier.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the New Holland 250 on Aug. 6 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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