Burton to fill in for Herbst at Daytona

Riley Herbst will not compete in Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway, and 23XI Racing will put Harrison Burton in the No. 35 Toyota in Herbst’s place.

A statement from 23XI Racing read, “After a strong effort in qualifying yesterday, Riley Herbst woke up with lingering effects from last weekend’s incident, and along with the team, decided it was in his best interest to step out of the car for tonight’s race at Daytona International Speedway.”

Herbst (pictured above) had a significant crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when he was spun by Michael McDowell on lap 225 in Turn 3. The car hit with its left rear and then the left front, before coming to a stop. But then a stationary Herbst was hit by an oncoming Connor Zilisch.

Although Corey Heim is the organization's reserve driver, he is already entered into the event. Burton, a full-time driver for Sam Hunt Racing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, is a former Cup Series competitor and Daytona winner and is the reserve driver for fellow Toyota team Legacy Motor Club.

Herbst qualified his car Friday at Daytona and made the final round of the single-car procedure. He clocked in fifth fastest.

Burton will have to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race due to the driver change.