23XI Racing Adds Third Full-Time Car, Riley Herbst to 2025 Roster

After five full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, Riley Herbst will officially make the jump to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2025. On Wednesday, 23XI Racing announced the addition of Herbst as well as the expansion of its NASCAR Cup Series program to three full-time cars for the upcoming season.

Herbst will pilot the No. 35 Toyota Camry XSE with primary sponsorship from longtime partner Monster Energy and will serve as a teammate to Bubba Wallace (No. 23), and Tyler Reddick (No. 45).

For Herbst, who has developed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for one season with Joe Gibbs Racing (2020) and four seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing, he finally accomplishes his lifelong goal of competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“It’s an honor to join 23XI and Toyota for the opportunity to race in the Cup Series each week,” said Herbst. “Racing full-time in the Cup Series has been my goal since I started in NASCAR and I’m excited to start my Cup career with such an accomplished and driven team. What 23XI has accomplished in a short time is impressive and I look forward to building on their success as the organization grows. It’s also great to continue representing Monster and I’m excited about adding to their legacy in NASCAR.”

As 23XI Racing continues to navigate the choppy waters of antitrust litigation against NASCAR, the team felt the 2025 season was the right time for expansion.

“As 23XI enters our fifth season next year, we felt the time was right to continue the growth of our organization by adding a third team, and Riley is a driver we think will be a great fit for us,” said Steve Lauletta, 23XI Team President. “We have a very solid foundation with both Bubba and Tyler, and we know they will be a great resource for Riley as he begins his journey in the Cup Series.”

Monster Energy Drink is excited to continue onto the next level of the racing journey with Herbst.

“Riley Herbst has built his career with Monster Energy and he is part of the Family,” said Mitch Covington, Monster Energy’s SVP of Sports Marketing. “From his ascent to championship-caliber driver in the Xfinity Series to his next step into the premier NASCAR Cup Series, Monster and Riley have been in it together – and we are just thrilled to power into this phase of his incredible career with him.”

The Las Vegas native has recorded three wins over the last two seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, including two wins this past season. While he hasn’t emerged as a legitimate threat for the NASCAR Xfinity Series title, Herbst has shown flashes of brilliance. His first career win in 2023 came at his home track — Las Vegas Motor Speedway — and he reached victory lane in dominating fashion in that race.

Herbst led a race-high 103 laps, and he had a margin of victory of nearly 15 seconds over John Hunter Nemechek, who is a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

In 2024, Herbst picked up a prestigious win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 2.5-mile rectangular oval track layout. The 25-year-old put an exclamation point on his 2024 campaign with a dominant win at Phoenix Raceway, the season finale. Herbst led a race-high 167 laps and made a daring pass on Justin Allgaier for the race win on the last lap.

According to a press release from 23XI Racing, Davin Restivo, who served as Herbst’s crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will make the jump to the NASCAR Cup Series with Herbst. Restivo took over as the crew chief for Herbst mid-way through the 2023 campaign. The driver picked up all three of his NASCAR Xfinity Series wins with Restivo atop the pit box.

-Photo credit: Craig White, TobyChristie.com