INDIANAPOLIS — Riley Herbst scored his second career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in style, holding off teammate and defending series champion Cole Custer as well as Cup veteran Aric Almirola to win Saturday's Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With about 15 laps to go, Daniel Dye slid up into Anthony Alfredo, pushing Alfredo into the wall coming out of Turn 1. Alfredo slid up high in the south chute and Turn 2 and bounced off the wall into the path of Parker Retzlaff. Retzlaff rear-ended Alfredo and collected Josh Williams.
The accident set up a sprint to the finish. Herbst and Custer were leading at the time of caution and both elected not to pit ahead of the final restart.
On the ensuing restart, Custer pulled out to over a second lead over his teammate Herbst. Aric Almirola, who spun earlier in the race, rounded out the top-3, trying to take the second spot away from Herbst.
Over the radio, Herbst was confident he would be able to catch his teammate. He used the draft from Almirola, who was tucked close to his rear bumper, to gradually chip away at Custer's lead over the course of the final ten laps.
With two laps to go, Herbst had cut the lead down to just two car lengths. Custer attempted to weave across the straightaways to try and break the draft, but Herbst never lifted. Coming to the white flag, Herbst nudged Custer to get alongside.
As the two teammates battled for the lead, Aric Almirola took advantage of a huge draft to vault into the lead. The three drivers took the white flag nearly three-wide.
Almirola attempted to hold off Herbst on the backstretch, but Herbst never let up. Herbst was able to get his nose under Almirola in Turn 3 and took the lead. He then got sideways and essentially drifted through Turn 4 as the checkered flag waved.
Custer made a valiant attempt to catch his teammate in the final feet, but ultimately settled for a second-place finish. Almirola finished third.
"This is Indianapolis, this is the most famous track in the world. It's an honor just to walk in this place, let alone win," said Herbst to NBC Sports after the race. "This is hallowed ground, this is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Every person in the world wants to race here, and I won here."
Herbst's win came with his family in attendance and also marked the second win in a row for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Xfinity Series. Cole Custer won last weekend's race at Pocono.
"I don't care if it's the Xfinity Series, the Cup Series, the go-kart track out back, it's the Brickyard. This is the coolest track in the world," said Herbst.
Shane van Gisbergen, who is seeded first in the Xfinity Series playoff standings with three wins so far this season, finished fourth in his first outing on the oval.
Noblesville native Conor Daly had an outstanding first go at the IMS oval in a stock car. Daly qualified 16th and finished 14th, spending the majority of the day running in the top-15. It was a much better outing for Daly, who struggled in Friday night's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Daly had to start from the rear of the field and finished 29th, three laps down.
Daly's Saturday did not get off to a good start. On the opening lap, Sam Mayer spun in front of the pack, collecting several good cars and eliminating them from the race. Daly was one of those cars. He had damage to the left front bumper of his car, but his team was able to make repairs and keep him running well.
"I was literally sandwiched in the wall in Turn 1," Daly told NBC Sports after the race. "I was like 'well, this is my NASCAR experience.'"
Anderson native Greg van Alst, the only other Hoosier in the field besides Daly, finished 32nd after having to retire with under 10 laps to go with an ignition problem.
