Riley Herbst 2026 Season Report Card: Seven DNFs and a D
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing 2026 Season Report Cards, where every full-time Cup Series driver gets a grade computed from every race they ran, not opinion. Next up: the number 35 of 23XI Racing.
The Short Version
Riley Herbst's 2026 season in the No. 35 Toyota was his second and last with 23XI Racing. He found out in May that Corey Heim would take the car in 2027. He had seven DNFs, 33rd of 35 full-time drivers, and missed the summer Daytona race with a concussion from a crash at New Hampshire. He finished 30th in points. The full year grades out to a D, 33rd of 35 full-time drivers.
Why the Riley Herbst 2026 Grade Is a D
Every HHR report card grade comes from the same math. After every race, each driver gets a score out of 100 based on where they finished in the field, how many spots they gained or lost from the start, how many laps they led, and a penalty for not finishing. The season grade is the average of the race scores, curved against the 35 drivers who ran the full year.
Herbst started 35 of the 36 races, so his grade is the average of those 35. His season score ranked 33rd of 35, which lands at D. The DNF penalty hit him harder than almost anyone, and 13 of his 35 finishes were 30th or worse.
Riley Herbst by the Numbers
Here is where Herbst ranked among the 35 full-time drivers in 14 stats. The bar and the circle show his rank (1 is best). The number on the right is the actual stat.
Look at the gap between how he ran and how he finished. Herbst's average running position was 22.3, 26th in the field. His average finish was 23.9, 31st. He lost an average of 1.0 spot per race from where he started, 23rd. When a race went wrong for the No. 35, it usually ended early: six crashes and one DNF listed in the official results as a suspension issue at Bristol.
His best rank is finish spread, 12th, which means his results were fairly steady. The speed numbers were not strong. He led 7 laps all season (30th), had zero top 5s (29th) and three top 10s (28th), and his 56.6 average driver rating ranked 28th.
The Best of the Year
- Daytona 500, Feb. 15: started 28th, finished 8th.
- San Diego Street Course, June 21: started 24th, led 3 laps, finished 8th.
- Chicagoland, July 5: started 18th, finished 10th.
- Texas, May 3: led a lap and finished 11th.
Through the first 19 races he averaged a 20.4 finish with only one DNF, a crash at Martinsville. That is not a playoff pace, but it is a lot closer to the middle of the field than where he ended up.
The Crashes, the Concussion and a Hard Fall
The second half turned on a run of crashes. Herbst crashed out at Atlanta in July, Indianapolis in July and New Hampshire on Aug. 23. At New Hampshire, contact from Michael McDowell sent him spinning into the Turn 3 wall. He passed concussion protocol that week, but 23XI pulled him from the Daytona race on Aug. 29 citing lingering effects, after he had qualified 5th. Reserve driver Harrison Burton drove the No. 35. Herbst later confirmed a concussion diagnosis and was cleared to return for the Southern 500 at Darlington.
The results did not come back with him. His Chase average was 28.2, with a crash at World Wide Technology Raceway, the suspension DNF at Bristol and another crash at Talladega. His best Chase finishes were a pair of 18ths at Las Vegas and Charlotte. Davin Restivo was his crew chief all season.
What 2027 Looks Like
Herbst is not out of a ride. In September, Legacy Motor Club announced he will drive a new third car, the No. 84 Toyota, on a multiyear deal. RACER reports Monster Energy is coming with him, and Jeremy Bullins will be his crew chief. Corey Heim, the 2025 Truck Series champion, takes over the No. 35 at 23XI. Every move is on our 2027 silly season tracker.
The new team debuts at Daytona, with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21 at 2:30 PM ET on FOX. Start times and channels for every race are on our race TV guide.
New team, new number, new crew chief. If he can turn the first half of 2026 into a full season, the grade moves. Every other driver's grade is on the 2026 report cards page.
The Bottom Line
Herbst ran better than he finished in 2026, and seven DNFs plus a concussion made sure the gap never closed. The D is the score of a season that kept ending early. The No. 84 is a clean slate.
Gear Up for Daytona
Herbst's best finish of 2026 came in the Daytona 500. We do not have Herbst gear in stock right now, but the Daytona 500 gear is here, and the newest arrivals land every week.
- 2026 Daytona 500 Vintage Blue Hat
- 2026 Daytona 500 Trophy Logo T-Shirt
- 2026 Daytona 500 Patriotic Event Hat
- NASCAR Fan Cap Subscription
Sources: NASCAR official race results and loop data for 2026 points races; New Hampshire crash and Daytona driver change via Yardbarker and Yahoo Sports; concussion diagnosis and return via MotorBiscuit; Heim announcement via NASCAR.com; Legacy move and crew chief via RACER.
