by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Riley Herbst picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s BetMGM 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #98 Monster Energy Ford crashed after 29 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Herbst’s 154th start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY Series race since May 13, 2023 at Darlington, 34 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #98, the 169th for Ford, and the 394th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 46th for the #98, the 1,037th for Ford, and the 1,376th from a crash.

Last fall at his home track in Las Vegas, Herbst finally broke through with his first career XFINITY Series victory. He did so in dominant fashion, leading 103 of 201 laps and besting runner-up John Hunter Nemechek by just under 15 seconds. This came mere days after a career performance in just his fourth career Cup start at Talladega, where his third Front Row Motorsports entry battled among the leaders all day, paced the field for 10 laps, and only a last-minute spin dropped him to 9th. His two Cup starts this year weren’t as spectacular – a 24th in Daytona and a 35th in Kansas – and on the XFINITY side, he’s been firmly in the Top 10 in points all year. He finished runner-up to Jesse Love in Talladega, then finished 7th his last time out in Darlington.

At Charlotte, Herbst ran 14th-fastest in practice, then qualified 19th with a lap of 172.645mph (31.278 seconds). His was one of 40 drivers entered for 38 spots. Both J.J. Yeley in the #14 Engine Parts Plus Chevrolet and Akinori Ogata in the #35 YKK Chevrolet spun during their qualifying laps. Yeley didn’t post a speed while Ogata’s was just 63.517mph (85.017 seconds), more than 54 seconds off the pole. Ogata’s spin proved most costly as he missed the show along with Jade Buford in the returning Mike Harmon Racing entry, the #74 Frog Alley Brewing Company Chevrolet. Yeley secured the 38th and final starting spot.

Prior to the start, Yeley was joined in the back by 27th-place Kyle Weatherman in the #91 MyRadar / DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet, which was docked for unapproved adjustments. When the race started, Weatherman was last across the stripe, 3.672 seconds behind the leader. Between himself and Yeley was his teammate, Natalie Decker, who returned for the first time since Daytona to drive the #92 Bikini Zone Chevrolet. Decker qualified 37th, and was just over two seconds off the pole. By Lap 3, she was in last place, 7.718 seconds back of the lead and 0.914 behind new 37th-place runner Dawson Cram in the #4 TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet.

Over the next several laps, Decker steadily lost ground to the 37th-place runner as the spotter helped her perfect her arc into the corners. On Lap 5, it grew to 1.310 seconds as Cram dropped Yeley back to 37th. On Lap 9, Yeley passed Patrick Emerling in the #07 Liberty Brew Chevrolet, which the next time by was now 1.465 ahead of Decker. On Lap 15, the gap was now 2.492 seconds as Emerling caught and passed new 37th-place runner Josh Williams, who was struggling in the #11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet. At the line, Emerling was ahead of Williams by just 0.025 second in a side-by-side battle before Emerling pulled away. On Lap 17, Decker was advised again to not “get to the white line too soon” as she drove through the corners. She was now 2.858 behind Williams. The gap continued to increase to 3.839 on Lap 23 before Decker was first to be lapped two circuits later.

Decker was still running in last, one lap down, when the first caution fell on Lap 31. Coming off Turn 2, Herbst was still mired in the middle of the pack in the 18th spot, locked in a tight battle with A.J. Allmendinger in the #16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. At corner exit, Herbst appeared to cross Allmendinger’s nose, sending the #98 spinning down the track. The #98 slammed into the inside wall nearly head-on, then limped back to pit road, where his crew waited in one of the first stalls past pit entrance. By then, he’d fallen off the lead lap and taken last from Decker. After checking the front clip, the crew quickly surmised their day was done, and relayed they would go behind the wall after the leaders pitted. Herbst couldn’t turn the car, however, so a tow truck had to be called to bring him to the garage. Herbst’s crew talked about changing the two flat left-side tires to avoid tearing up the car more, but NASCAR was anxious to restart the race. So, on Lap 36, the car was hurriedly towed behind the wall, done for the day. Natalie Decker ultimately finished 29th.

Finishing 37th was defending last-place finisher of this race Parker Kligerman, whose #48 Spiked Lite Coolers didn’t appear to have heavy damage when he spun to a stop off Turn 4. However, his car was soon towed to the garage, out of the race. Sheldon Creed battled just behind the leaders for most of the early laps, only for what appeared to be an exploded right-front brake rotor forced him to make an unscheduled stop, then climb from the car. The results indicated Creed’s oil cooler had failed. Blaine Perkins was near the back of the field in the early laps, then pulled behind the wall with suspension issues on the #29 AUTOPARKIT.com Ford. Rounding out the group was Dean Thompson, whose triple-duty weekend ended with an unscheduled stop of his own for a busted fuel pump on the #26 MCM Transportation Toyota, which was then pushed behind the wall.

Weatherman bounces back, Gragson gives Rette good series debut

After his pre-race penalty sent him to the 38th and last position for the start, Kyle Weatherman recovered nicely to finish in the 11th spot, marking his third-straight finish of 17th or better in the series. One spot ahead of him in 10th was the XFINITY debut of Rette Jones Racing’s #30 Auto Parts Centres Ford, which Cup regular Noah Gragson drove in his first start since the 2022 finale at Phoenix.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #98 in a XFINITY Series race at Charlotte since October 5, 1996, when Jeremy Mayfield’s #98 NEC Communications Ford lost an engine after 26 laps of the All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #98-Riley Herbst / 29 laps / crash

37) #48-Parker Kligerman / 71 laps / crash

36) #18-Sheldon Creed / 119 laps / oil cooler

35) #29-Blaine Perkins / 135 laps / suspension

34) #26-Dean Thompson / 137 laps / fuel pump

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Joey Gase Motorsports, Jordan Anderson Racing, JR Motorsports (2)

2nd) Alpha Prime Racing, DGM Racing, Kaulig Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (7)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (2)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP