Riley Herbst is at Darlington Raceway ready to tackle the grueling challenge of the Cook Out Southern 500.
The Las Vegas, Nevada-native chose to step aside for last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway after feeling the lingering effects of a wreck at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Herbst was sent into the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier and was later hit by Connor Zilisch.
Herbst confirms that he was diagnosed with a concussion following the accident at New Hampshire but was almost immediately cleared to return to NASCAR Cup Series competition, hence why he qualified his No. 35 Toyota Camry XSE at “The World Center of Racing”.
But, Herbst woke up last Saturday, on race day, feeling rough, and chose to step aside to protect himself, letting Harrison Burton drive, where he finished a solid 12th-place.
“I got diagnosed with a concussion after a wreck in Loudon, and I thought that I was cleared to pass,” Herbst said on Saturday. “I passed all my tests the week leading up to Daytona. Obviously, I qualified in the race car, and had really fast speed, and then I woke up Saturday morning, feeling really, really rough with trouble with all the symptoms, the worst I’ve had since the wreck. So, I thought it was the best idea for me to step out and let Harrison [Burton] drive the race car.
The 27-year-old driver says that he’s “back to being 100%” and will be driving the No. 35 GoGo SqueeZ Toyota Camry XSE in one of the longest and most difficult events of the season at Darlington, one of the most difficult tracks on the circuit.
Herbst says he’s prepared, too.
“We were at the sim, so I’ve been in the sim every single day this week. No symptoms,” Herbst said. “I’ve worked out every single day this week. No symptoms, and yeah, I did those little ride-alongs on Thursday [at Ten Tenths Motor Club] with no symptoms, so obviously nobody knows until you hop into the race car, but I’ve been cleared of all activities and looking forward to completing another Southern 500.”
Herbst will tackle the Darlington Raceway on Saturday in NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying, before racing the Southern 500 on Sunday at 5:00 PM ET on USA Sports.
