Riley Herbst wins his second Xfinity title at Indy

Riley Herbst emerged victorious in a three-way battle to claim his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at one of the world’s most hallowed speedways.

Herbst chased down teammate Cole Custer and passed Aric Almirola on the final lap to win the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With his win at the Brickyard, Herbst has clinched a spot in the 2024 Xfinity Series playoffs.

Custer led most of the final green flag run to secure a 1-2 finish for Stewart-Haas Racing. Custer led 44 laps, the longest of the race.

Almirola passed both SHR drivers in a three-abreast formation before the white flag was dropped, but lost the lead to Herbst coming into Turn 3 and was passed by Custer for a third-place finish.

Shane van Gisbergen finished fourth after four new tires at the final caution, giving him the best result of his career in an oval race, with Sheldon Creed completing the top five.

Austin Hill, Daniel Dye, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top 10 with sixth through tenth places, respectively.

Shortly after the Xfinity Series returned to the Brickyard, a massive pile-up occurred in turn 3 on the first lap. Sam Mayer, who was battling with Allmendinger for sixth place, spun, setting off a massive 12-car pile-up involving Jesse Love, Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Josh Berry, Connor Daly, Jeb Burton, Parker Retzlaff, Leland Honeyman, Jeremy Clements and Chandler Smith.

After the No. 81 Smith lost power and brought out the second caution, the field split into strategies, with Jones, Allgaier and Custer pitting and Herbst leading the drivers who remained on the track to win Stage 1.

Allmendinger finished second, with Ryan Sieg, Jones and Allgaier completing the top five after the first stage.

Pit strategy continued to play a key role, with Jones initially leading the drivers who pitted in Stage 1, but then losing the lead to Custer as he battled with JR Motorsports teammate Allgaier for the lead.

Custer was on his way to winning Stage 2 when a caution came out on lap 55 for Brennan Poole’s engine dying, allowing Sieg to stay on the track while almost everyone else pitted, and he survived a one-lap shootout with Almirola and Herbst to win Stage 2.

Allmendinger and Allgaier each finished in the top five in Stage 2.

Herbst made a strong pass of both Almirola and Allmendinger on the restart of the third stage, but Almirola made light contact with Hill in Turn 1, dropping him to seventh place and spinning a lap later.

Allmendinger held off the SHR drivers on the final restart, but Custer passed the No. 16 Kaulig Racing car on lap 76, and Herbst passed Custer on lap 81.

However, Anthony Alfredo and Dye made contact exiting the first corner on lap 84, causing Alfredo to get a flat tire, which sent Retzlaff into the rear of the No. 5 Our Motorsports Chevrolet, which had been running in the top 10 for much of the day. Josh Williams was also involved in the crash.

Strategies again split as Herbst, Custer and Allmendinger stayed on the track, and Custer gained a 1.5 second lead, but Herbst overtook his teammate on the final lap, and after a three-way battle on the final lap, Herbst crossed the finish line for the win.

Xfinity Indianapolis Results

After a nearly one-month hiatus, the Xfinity Series will return to the Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250 on Saturday, August 17 at 3:30 pm ET, broadcast by USA Network.