23XI Racing driver Riley Herbst won’t compete in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The decision was sudden and took everyone by surprise, as Herbst had a good qualifying round, placing 5th. However, the effects of the crash from last weekend caught up to him, and he and his team decided that he would sit out for the final regular season race.
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“After a strong effort in qualifying yesterday, Riley Herbest woke up with lingering effects from last weekend’s incident and, along with the team, decided it was in his best interest to step out of the car for tonight’s race at Daytona International Speedway,” 23XI Racing said in a press release.
On lap 225, Herbst’s No. 35 car got spun after battling with Michael McDowell at New Hampshire Speedway. Herbst crashed into the wall, but Connor Zilisch couldn’t hit the brakes in time and rammed hard into the stationary race car. It was a hard crash for both the drivers involved.
Herbst was checked and cleared by the infield center after the crash. But he wasn’t at his 100% entering the race day at Daytona. 23XI Racing usually relies on Corey Heim in such situations, but he was scheduled to compete in the event at Daytona. So, they reached out to Harrison Burton to fill in for Herbst in the No. 35 car.
“He will be replaced in the No. 35 Toyota for tonight’s race at Daytona International Speedway by Harrison Burton,” 23XI Racing added. Burton will start the race in the rear of the field due to a driver change. And this will be his first Cup race since he was a full-time driver for Wood Brothers Racing in 2024. He won the summer Daytona race to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
This is the final year for Herbst in the No. 35 car, as he is going to be replaced by Corey Heim in 2027. Meanwhile, Harrison Burton has scored three top 10 finishes with Sam Hunts Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series. He returned to the Toyota camp for the first time since 2020, back then he drove the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing.
It will be interesting to see how the No. 35 team performs with sudden driver changes at Daytona. Mathematically, it is not possible for the No. 35 team to make it into the Chase, but the points collected during the race will be added to the final points tally. So this is a pretty important race for 23XI Racing.