Here's the thing about racing machines at modern speeds: when they bite, they bite hard. Riley Herbst found that out the terrifying way last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway during a late wreck in the YellaWood 500. Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford broke loose on Lap 183 and sparked a heavy multicar accident. Herbst took a massive blow to the outside before ricocheting straight into the inside SAFER barrier, finishing 26th and needing assistance from the AMR Safety Team to gingerly climb out of his ruined machine.
Now, 23XI Racing has confirmed that the 27-year-old Las Vegas native will attempt to run the full distance of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Herbst qualified 27th in the No. 35 Toyota for Sunday's race, but the journey to the grid hasn't been simple. He spent Saturday grinding through 113 laps in practice alongside his two qualifying laps, all while dealing with a body that remains sore and stiff from head to toe.
Medical evaluations revealed a torn ligament in his left forearm, leaving his wrist and arm heavily wrapped. Yet, by some miracle of anatomy, Herbst dodged a much worse fate. "I got lucky in that we tore part of the ligament that doesn’t need surgery," Herbst told NASCAR.com and FOX Sports Saturday. "If I tore it on the other side of the ligament, it would have been done for 12 weeks, and we would have needed surgery. So, got lucky in that sense. Well, I got lucky in all the sense of it to walk away from that. So, yeah. Now it’s just about mitigating pain for nine weeks."
The incident itself still haunts the driver, particularly the helpless seconds leading up to the secondary impact. While the initial collision happened in a blink, the rebound offered a grim two-and-a-half-second window to stare straight at the approaching wall. Trying desperately to bleed off speed, he mashed the brake pedal to the floor and reached for the downshift, willing the engine to take some of the punishment—only to find the transaxle and drivetrain already destroyed by the first blow, leaving him entirely along for the ride at 160 mph.
Despite the brutal nature of the crash, the structural integrity of the machine passed its ultimate test. The battered No. 35 Toyota was shipped off to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, for evaluation, leaving Herbst to conclude that the safety equipment ultimately did its job. Team co-owner Denny Hamlin noted that Harrison Burton remains on standby as a backup plan if the pain proves too much, though Herbst is intent on pushing through.
It is just the latest physical hurdle for a driver who previously stepped aside for the August race at Daytona International Speedway after suffering a concussion from a crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Sitting 30th in the Cup standings through 33 starts with a career-high three top-10 finishes, Herbst is preparing for a future shift: with Corey Heim taking over 23XI Racing’s third full-time entry in 2027, Herbst is set to move to Legacy Motor Club next season to drive the No. 84 Toyota.
