Herbst "not confident" about 2025 prospects

Riley Herbst begins competing for the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship this weekend at Kansas Speedway and will do so with his future still undecided.

Herbst admitted during Xfinity Series playoff media day he is “not confident by any means” about what he will be doing in 2025. The 25-year-old has been connected to a possible third car at 23XI Racing in the Cup Series should the organization expand, but that program remains unconfirmed.

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However, it is known that Herbst will not return to his current team at Stewart-Haas Racing. The organization is rebranding to Haas Factory Team and will have Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed in the stable.

“Distraction-wise, I think it weighs on all of us a little bit,” Herbst said. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Hopefully, things kind of sort themselves out here in the meantime, in the future. But I can’t worry about that now. I have to worry about the [No.] 98 team and trying to get the best results we can this weekend at Kansas to put ourselves even higher about the cut line.

“It’s been a little bit of a distraction, but I’m not too confident in what’s going to happen next year.”

Herbst has two wins in 168 career starts in the Xfinity Series, and has been full-time in the series for five seasons. He begins the 2024 postseason seeded eighth.

Since last year, Herbst has also made eight Cup Series starts for multiple teams. Herbst finished 10th in the 2023 Daytona 500 for Rick Ware and a career-best ninth in the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway for Front Row Motorsports.