Riley Herbst Too Inexperienced to Contend at Nashville
6 months agoRiley Herbst starts 30th at Nashville on Sunday, ahead of his teammate Justin Haley, but Haley did qualify faster than Herbst. Although Herbst has already collected two top-10s in the NASCAR Cup Series, those came in drafting races where slower teams like Herbst's Rick Ware Racing can more easily compete. Haley has had surprisingly consistent performance on non-drafting ovals in recent weeks, but he and his crew chief, Chris Lawson, are clearly both much better than Herbst and Billy Plourde so it's unlikely to envision Herbst posting an above-average finish for that team. He has been remarkably consistent in the Xfinity Series at Nashville, though, posting an average finish of 5.3 at Nashville, his best on any track, but he has never led there despite winning the pole in 2022. Most likely his lack of experience in the Next Gen car will lead to a poor result on Sunday. Don't expect too much out of Herbst this weekend. He's still driving a Rick Ware Racing car that usually runs in the 30s each week.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference