Cup rookie Herbst looking to turn the tide in Mexico City

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By Eric Johnson - Jun 11, 2025, 8:38 PM UTC

Cup rookie Herbst looking to turn the tide in Mexico City

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Riley Herbst is 15 races into his freshman season and the Las Vegas native has not had it easy in the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota, with an average finish of 25th. While that's obviously been cause for disappointment for the Xfinity Series race winner, this weekend's event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City has him in a more optimistic frame of mind.

“It’s been challenging. It’s been fun. It’s been eye-opening. It’s been all of those things," Herbst says of his rookie campaign. "I think we’re getting our feet on the ground. We’re starting to find speed. And now it is just about putting the race together and being there at the end. We’ve taken ourselves out a few times, so that is frustrating, but it’s just about putting everything together and just trying to be there for how long these races are and not take yourself out of contention. It’s part of the learning phase and we are going through it right now.”

"We’ve been on the Mexico City track in the simulator so much. It is one of my favorite road courses, by far," he said. "We’re just trying to be better than we were last week. It’s about improving and making that solid ladder process. I know I sound repetitive, but it is so true. You have got to go through all the steps. Top 15s are phenomenal and that’s kind of 'school,' for sure. We are also starting heading back to tracks that we’ve already been at during the first part of the year.

Herbst expanded on the variables he is currently working on to make himself a better Cup driver alongside 23XI teammates Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace.

“It’s about leaning on the resources that I have,” said Herbst. “Tyler, Bubba and Denny have been huge to me. For the speed that we do have, a lot of it has been on them and asking questions. I always like to say, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’ So with questions, you better ask away. I feel like we are doing a good job at that and what we need to get better on. It’s capitalizing, it’s unloading off the truck better, it’s qualifying better. There are so many small pieces that add up to the big pie that we are trying to improve on every day.”

After five full-time seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, has moving up to the top league been tougher than Herbst had imagined?

“I don’t know if it’s tougher than I thought it would be,” said Herbst after a brief pause. “I think it’s supposed to be this way. It’s the hardest racing in America. Everybody is so talented and the field is so close. If it wasn’t this way, it would be odd. Yeah, it’s all part of it and it’s the journey we are on and we are getting through it. And we are fighting for hundredths and tenths of a second now, so every edge we do have, we hope to keep it as long as we can. It’s such a competitive sport from first place to 40th.”

A 36-race schedule in the Cup Series is a long grind, but it’s a reality Herbst says he enjoys.

“I love the grind and the process to getting better,” he explained. “It’s always cool when you perform well, but I love the process of getting better and learning. I love to push myself and challenge myself and figure out problems. That’s why I do it.”

“On a macro level and on a big spectrum, it’s just about what I need to look for. What are the characteristics at this track? Were does it go? What lanes are better? Just the things that I wouldn’t know if I hadn’t been there before. I have a lot of those questions for the guys and they have all been tremendous and help me out so much.”

Herbst has also learned that every advance he makes is hard earned.

“Oh absolutely, you fight for every spot out there,” he said. “Every spot is earned in this sport and nothing is given to you. The points are so hard to come by. That’s what makes winning and finishing well so good and what makes you feel so good. It’s because it is so hard to get.

"We’ve had some decent finishes to start the year. Then we kind of went through a lall and we are climbing our way out. Hopefully, we can stack some more solid finishes and just continue to learn and continue to get better.

"I’ve had to earn my stripes and things like that. It has been good and everybody on the No. 35 team is awesome. It is the best team that I have ever been on. I love the guys because they work so hard for me. Davin Restivo, my crew chief, and everyone, we all get along great. That is really cool. We are just trying to find our footing together and work together the best we can.”

"Being better in qualifying is also a huge goal for us. We are confident. I have the best team around me and I have one of the fastest cars. It’s just fun to go to the racetrack and learning with speed and have a team that supports you. I wouldn’t trade this for anything. It’s the best feeling in the world. It’s so awesome.”

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Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson

Born and raised in the rust belt to a dad who liked to race cars and build race engines, Eric Johnson grew up going to the races. After making it out of college, Johnson went into the Los Angeles advertising agency world before helping start the motocross magazine Racer X Illustrated in 1998. Some 20 years ago, Johnson met Paul Pfanner and, well, Paul put him to work on IndyCar, NASCAR, F1, NHRA, IMSA – all sorts of gasoline-burning things. He’s still here. We can’t get rid of him.

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