As Riley Herbst crossed the start/finish line at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night, the famous words of Ricky Bobby — "If you ain't first, you're last" — likely echoed through his mind. Herbst came up just short of his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory on Saturday, losing a short-track duel to Sam Mayer in NASCAR Overtime. With Herbst's team, Stewart-Haas Racing, shutting down at the end of 2024, Herbst will technically be a free agent when the season ends, along with his teammate, Cole Custer.
When Herbst finally broke through for his first career win at Las Vegas last fall, it was seen as a victory that could open the floodgates for a driver who just needed a taste of victory to get the ball rolling. While Herbst has put together a consistent season so far in 2024, currently sitting 91 points above the playoff cutline, winning is the expectation for an organization that won the 2023 championship with Custer. While true that Custer is yet to visit victory lane this season as well, he's been in contention far more often than Herbst, doubling Herbst in both top-fives and top-10s.
Herbst's ordinary results so far have re-ignited the conversation around his relatively low ceiling, despite notching his first win last fall. It seemed like he'd finally rolled the boulder up the hill and into the victory circle in Las Vegas, but like Sisyphus toiling away in the underworld, he fell back down the mountain in heartbreaking fashion. It's possible that Herbst will continue t.
