MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Riley Herbst may have more on the line than any other driver entering the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.
Herbst, who is wrapping up his fourth season with Stewart-Haas Racing, does not have a ride lined up for next season.
He enters the playoffs as the eighth seed in the 12-driver lineup and has won one race this season.
Herbst admitted during media day on Tuesday that he’s not confident about landing another ride.
“Not confident by any means. 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 future, but I can’t worry about that now.
“I have to worry about the 98 team and try 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 gonna happen next year.”
Herbst, 25, made his Xfinity Series debut in 2018 and ran his first full season with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2020. He believes he’s improved greatly through 168 races in the series.
“I feel like I’ve progressed leaps and bounds,” Herbst said. “I don’t think that there’s a driver in the top three national series that has made more gains or progressed faster than I have. Actually, I take that back. I don’t think that they have progressed as much as I have just looking back and watching races from 2020, even 2019 when I made limited starts. I’ve definitely become a different race car driver and a different person, so I’m proud of that aspect of no matter what happens I’m proud of the fact that I’ve grown and become a better race car driver.
“I obviously think that there’s a long way to go from where I want to be, but I’ve grown a lot and hopefully I can take that growth into the playoffs and use it to my advantage.”
It is Herbst’s third playoff appearance. He was eliminated in the first round in his two previous appearances.