TALLADEGA, Ala: Riley Herbst came to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with one thing on his mind staying in the top-eight in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs standings.
Before the race, Herbst radioed his team, “Let’s see how many points we get in these first two stages and go for the win in the last stage.”
With a subpar qualifying effort of 23rd on Friday afternoon, the No. 98 Monster Energy Drink Ford Mustang driver would need drafting partners to move forward and collect his much-desired stage points.
Filled with just one caution in Stage 1 on Lap 4 for a backstretch spin by Ty Gibbs, Herbst would briefly find his way inside the top-10 before falling outside the top-10 in 11th at the stage checkered finish – unable to collect any crucial points.
Restarting the race in Stage 2 in sixth, Herbst had hoped to mingle inside the lead pack and remain comfortably inside the top-10 during the short sprint to the finish, but a shuffle from the lead pack and little time to recover left Herbst and his Stewart-Haas Racing team 12th at the conclusion of Stage 2.
Coming down pit road at the end of Stage 2, the Las Vegas, Nev. native would receive a trackbar adjustment, tires and fuel – while informing crew chief Richard Boswell, “I just can’t go nowhere.”
A calm Stage 3 would once again Herbst hover inside the top-10 in seventh until green flag stops dropped him briefly to 29th.
Once pit stops cycled, Herbst would once again flirt with the top-10 but with drivers jockeying for position over the final five miles of the race, Herbst would settle for 11th.
“It was a weird superspeedway race, to be honest,” offered Herbst after the race. “I feel like we just lacked overall speed, which isn’t like us at these tracks.
“We couldn’t jump above the cutline for the Playoffs, but we’re going to another unpredictable track next Saturday. The Roval will be tough, too. We know what we have to do and we’ll do it.”
Leaving Talladega, Herbst is 10th in the standings and 10 points below the cut line with one race remaining in the opening round of the Xfinity Playoffs.
Next up for Herbst is the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, October 8th at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @Grace3140.
