INDIANAPOLIS, IN – July 22, 2024 – Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst won Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, marking his first win of the season and ninth top-10. The win also marked Stewart-Haas Racing’s 27th Xfinity Series victory and 103rd win overall.
“Congratulations to Tony, Gene, Davin, Riley, and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing on the race win at Indianapolis,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Both Stewart-Haas cars were fast in qualifying and throughout the race. It’s always special to win here and excited to be back on the oval!”
“This is Indianapolis. This is the most famous racetrack in the world and it is an honor just to walk in this place, let alone win. We had speed all year and I felt like we could win but I just messed up on the restarts a little bit. It was a good fight. I thought I had Cole clear and then he slid bottom of three with the 20 and I thought it was going to be tough. I just continued to work. It has been a pretty tough week on me mentally to be honest with you. I am proud of these guys and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing,” commented Herbst.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400, both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series returned to the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year after previously racing on the road course. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Cole Custer and Riley Herbst swept the front row in Xfinity Series qualifying with Custer on the pole and Herbst on the outside of the front row. Custer was out front for the beginning of the race until a caution on lap 18 created different pit strategies and most cars decided to pit. Riley Herbst opted to stay out instead of pitting to win Stage 1, earning 10 bonus points and one playoff point. On lap 56, RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg was one of three cars that stayed out instead of pitting, cycling him to the front of the field. Following a one lap shootout until the end of the stage, Sieg was able to hold off second place Aric Almirola to take the stage win. The last stage of the race came down to a battle between Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, and Aric Almirola. On turn 4 of the last lap, Herbst made the race-winning pass on Aric Almirola and Cole Custer followed. Herbst finished .167 seconds in front of teammate Cole Custer. The two teammates led 77 of the 100 total laps
Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer finished in P2 while RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg finished in P11.
The NASCAR Cup Series also raced at Indianapolis on Sunday. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney finished in P3, Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland in P6, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P7, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson in P9.
Both the Xfinity and Cup Series take a break for the Olympics and racing resumes on August 11th with the Cup Series race at Richmond.
39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 466 WINS – 433 POLES