INDIANAPOLIS – Riley Herbst wasn’t going to be denied victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
It was setting up to be a big day for Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Cole Custer, before Herbst stole the show at the very end.
Herbst was able to track down Custer with two laps to go, but as the contenders drove under the white flag, Aric Almirola of Joe Gibbs Racing pulled up to make it three-wide and take the lead heading into turn 1.
Herbst then tracked down Almirola, got him loose in turn 3 before making the clean pass entering turn 4 and driving on to his second career victory for the driver from Las Vegas.
“This is Indianapolis, this is the most famous race track in the world, it’s an honor to just walk into this place,” Herbst said. “We’ve had speed all year. I knew we could win. I continued to work, continued to work and continued to work.
“This is hallowed grounds. This is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the Brickyard. This is Indianapolis. This is the coolest track in the world, and this is pretty sweet.”
It’s also a great way to head into a three-week break for the NASCAR Xfinity Series as the series pauses while its television partner at NBC is all-in on the Olympic Games in Paris.
“I’m proud of the guys at Stewart Haas Racing,” Herbst said. “These guys could have given up on me and they didn’t.
“I’m going to drink beer and turn my phone off for three weeks.”
Three different drivers led the last three laps. Custer led lap 98, Almirola lap 99 and Herbst the final lap, lap 100.
“You could see us beating doors coming down the frontstretch, you do everything you can to win at Indy,” Custer said. “What an awesome day for SHR. Two cars up front. Qualified 1-2 and finished 1-2. Unbelievable.
“This is a great way to kick everything off. Riley drove a great race today.”
Almirola said he probably should have carried as much entry speed into turn 3, but his car was so tight he couldn’t hold off the two cars he considered the class of the field.
“Those guys deserve it,” Almirola said. “I’m proud of them and happy for them.
“It was fun to get back in the race car and challenge for the win.
“It put on a great race and an exciting finish.”
Shane van Gisbergen of New Zealand finished fourth.
“The car got better and so did I,” van Gisbergen said. “The restarts were epic coming back through. I had a blast.
“I keep getting better and better and end up getting better in the race. I know I can do it and it’s really fun to run with these guys.”
The date, July 20, 2024, was setting up to be a big one in the life of NASCAR driver Cole Custer.
It’s the day he announced his return to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025 with the Haas Factory Team, won the NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was ready to cap it off with the biggest moment of all — victory in the Pennzoil 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
Custer tried to fend off SHR teammate Riley Herbst in the closing laps. It was under one second with two laps remaining in the race with Herbst coming on strong with the gap cut to .300-of-a-second.
Custer began to zig-zag to break the draft as Herbst got on his rear corner path for a three-cars abreast at the white flag.
Once Almirola got involved, it was a high-speed brawl to the finish in what was a great finish to the race.
Before that, the green flag waved with 30 laps to go and Herbst got a bit of a push from A.J. Allmendinger. It was side-by-side racing all the way through turn 3 as Allmendinger was able to pull ahead.
But Herbst regained the lead and formed a two-car tandem with Custer that they hoped would allow them to pull away from Allmendinger.
That was before a booming crash on the backstretch involving Josh Williams, Parker Retzlaff, Daniel Dye and Anthony Alfredo. After Alfredo’s car hit the outside wall, it couldn’t turn and drifted in front of Retzlaff. He was hit squarely in the back by the 31 with 16 laps remaining in the race.
“I don’t know, we really don’t know, we have a lot of questions about the wreck,” Retzlaff said. “It just sucks for the rest of the guys. There is really no reason for this.
“I wish I could have done more.”
The restart was with 11 laps to go, and Custer was able to muscle his way to the lead while it was three-wide for second place behind him. Almirola was able to get second place with 10 laps to go as the field began to line up in single field.
Further back, van Gisbergen had a good restart and was up to sixth place with nine laps remaining.
Almirola got sideways in turn 2 and was able to regain control without a yellow flag.
The 07 Chevrolet driven by Greg Van Alst of Anderson, Indiana was rolling very slowly around turn 2 and dropped to the apron. He pulled it out of harm’s way to the opening of the backstretch wall to keep the race running green.
And that gave the fans that came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a finish to remember in the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the oval since 2019.