‘It’s clicked now’: Las Vegan looks for NASCAR repeat at home track
Las Vegas Motor Speedway will always be special to NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Riley Herbst.
The 1½-mile oval isn’t just Herbst’s hometown track, but also the site of his first career NASCAR national series win.
“It’s always cool to get your first win,” Herbst said. “But to do it here at home, in the city that has given so much to my family, and to do it for all my friends and family, celebrating at my hometown with all my friends, was pretty special.”
Herbst, a 25-year-old Las Vegas native, will start 11th in The LiUNA Xfinity race at 2 p.m. Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The last time the Xfinity Series raced at LVMS in October, not only did Herbst win, he dominated the Alsco Uniforms 302 with a 14.95-second margin of victory, the largest for an Xfinity race at LVMS.
Herbst led a race-high 103 laps that day in what was Stewart-Haas Racing’s 100th career NASCAR win. He said the win “propelled” him and his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford team into this year.
“It’s just the confidence. The confidence to walk into the garage and know I can win at any single racetrack,” Herbst said. “I can lead every lap and know that I’m a contender. That’s what it takes in this sport, and I feel like I’m there now.”
Herbst opened last season with six top-10 finishes but did not qualify for the Xfinity playoffs. But Herbst finished last year with five straight top-five finishes, including the win.
He said he and his team are riding the momentum of last year’s strong finish into this season.
“I’ve really focused on that the last six months, trying to have myself grow on and off the racetrack,” Herbst said. “If I get to a level where I want to be, I feel like the results will follow. I’ll be at a place where I want to be on and off the racetrack.”
Herbst enters Saturday third in the Xfinity Series points, 28 behind leader Austin Hill, who won the first two races of the season.
Herbst finished sixth at the season opener at Daytona, then ended up 15th last week at Atlanta after running out of fuel while in second with three laps to go.
He said his car this weekend is the same one that he won with at LVMS.
“It’s a progress thing,” Herbst said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and time, and I feel like I’m in the sport where it’s clicked now for me and now I need to capitalize on that and go win.”
Herbst comes from a family with more than 50 years of off-road racing experience. His grandfather, Jerry, opened the chain of Terrible Herbst service stations and convenience stores. His father, Troy, and two uncles have continued the family racing legacy with the Terrible Herbst Motorsports off-road racing team.
Herbst said he’s asked the track for an additional 65 to 70 tickets for friends and family. He joked he’ll “pawn all that stuff” onto his father.
“It’s kind of hectic. Everybody wants a photo, everybody wants tickets and to come to the pits,” Herbst said. “I just try to stay away and kind of lock the door to the hauler.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.