By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
After 10 months away, Riley Herbst ended an Xfinity race the same way as last time… in the top 10.
Finishing sixth on debut at Iowa last June, the 20-year-old returned to Joe Gibbs Racing Friday night at Richmond Raceway for start No. 2.
And after starting the race from pole after qualifying was rained out, the rookie held on to the top 10 throughout the 250-lapper, eventually ending the night in ninth.
With a strong starting position, Herbst was happy to maintain that good feeling to the checkered flag.
“We started on the pole and led a few laps in the beginning,” Herbst said. “The whole first stage we just rode in third and fourth. We were cruising. We had a really good Toyota Supra.”
But the night wasn’t without its rookie errors. From on the track to on pit road, Herbst overcame mutiple issues to reach back inside the top 10.
“I made a lot of mistakes tonight,” he said. “At the end of the stage, I spun my tires and that brought me back down to the mid-teens and 20s. Then I missed my pit box on pit road and had to start at the tail end.
“We just battled our way back through the field to somehow come away with a top 10.”
Standing as his first national series start of 2019, nothing can beat track time in an Xfinity car.
“I definitely learned a lot every single lap tonight,” he said. “Richmond is definitely a difficult race track, but it’s fun.”