Riley Herbst makes last-lap pass to win at Indianapolis: In one of the most dramatic NASCAR Xfinity Series finishes in recent memory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst took the lead in the final corner of the final lap to claim his first victory of the season in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 – formally punching his ticket to the 2024 Playoffs.(Read more)(7-20-2024)

Making a last-lap pass, #98-Riley Herbst won the Pennzoil 250 Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, scoring his first victory of the 2024 season. Stewart-Haas Racing has won consecutive races, dating back to last weekend at Pocono. It’s the second career victory for Herbst.
#00-Cole Custer placed second, making it a sweep of the top two spots for SHR. #20-Aric Almirola led at the white flag, but dropped to third over the final two turns. #97-Shane van Gisbergen and #18-Sheldon Creed rounded out the top five.
#21-Austin Hill came from the rear of the field to finish sixth. #10-Daniel Dye earned the best finish of his young career in seventh. #16-AJ Allmendinger, #7-Justin Allgaier and #88-Carson Kvapil completed the top 10.
Ford swept all three stages, with Herbst picking up the playoff points in Stage 1. #39-Ryan Sieg used strategy in Stage 2 to win his first stage since 2022.
There were 12 lead changes among six drivers and seven cautions for 29 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 101.260 mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Indianapolis Paint Schemes

Race Fast Facts – Indianapolis:
Riley Herbst won the Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts, his second victory in 162 Xfinity Series races.
This is his first victory and ninth top-10 finish in 2024.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Cole Custer (second) posted his third top-10 finish in four races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is his 16th top-10 finish in 2024.
Aric Almirola (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Shane Van Gisbergen (fourth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Cole Custer leads the point standings by 56 points over Justin Allgaier.

Xfinity Series Standings after Indianapolis (Race 20 of 33):
1)#00-Cole Custer (1 win, regular season championship leader)
2)#97-Shane van Gisbergen (3 wins)
3)#81-Chandler Smith (2 wins)
4)#21-Austin Hill (2 wins)
5)#1-Sam Mayer (2 wins)
6)#7-Justin Allgaier (1 win)
7)#98-Riley Herbst (1 win)
8)#2-Jesse Love (1 win)
9)#16-AJ Allmendinger 609, +102
10)#18-Sheldon Creed 576, +69
11)#48-Parker Kligerman 553, +46
12)#39-Ryan Sieg 510, +3
Currently below elimination line
13)#8-Sammy Smith 507, -3
14)#9-Brandon Jones 441, -69
See the Drivers Points Standings and Owners Points Standings.

Race Updates:
Lap 100: #98-Herbst scores the win. #00-Custer gets by #20-Almirola for second. #97-van Gisbergen and #18-Creed round out the top five.
Lap 99: #98-Herbst gets to the inside of #20-Almirola in Turn 3 to take the lead.
Lap 98: #98-Herbst tracks #00-Custer down for the lead and makes a move to the inside. That slowed both cars down, allowing #20-Almirola to get by at the white flag.
Lap 89: #00-Custer took the lead from #98-Herbst on the restart. #20-Almirola moved up three spots to second.
Lap 85: The majority of the field pits. Race leader #98-Herbst stayed out, as did #00-Custer, #16-Allmendinger, #2-Love, #20-Almirola, #38-DiBenedetto, #42-Honeyman and #13-McLeod.
Lap 83: #10-Dye and #5-Alfredo make contact through Turns 1 and 2. #31-Retzlaff ran into the rear of Alfredo, with #11-Williams piling in.
Lap 80: #98-Herbst re-takes the lead from #00-Custer with 20 laps remaining.
Lap 75: #00-Custer  takes the lead with a shove from #98-Herbst. #16-Allmendinger drops to fourth position.
Lap 71: #16-Allmendinger takes the lead after #98-Herbst got loose through Turn 3.
Lap 67: Slight contact from #21-Hill turns #20-Almirola around in Turn 1 from sixth position.
Lap 66: #98-Herbst gets a push from his Stewart-Haas teammate #00-Custer to get the lead. #20-Almirola dropped to sixth after battling for the lead.
Lap 60: #39-Sieg wins Stage 2, his first stage victory since 2022. #20-Almirola, #98-Herbst, #16-Allmendinger, #7-Allgaier, #00-Custer, #97-van Gisbergen, #21-Hill, 42-Honeyman and #18-Creed score stage points.
Lap 57: The majority of the field pits, besides #39-Sieg who is electing to go with stage points.#42-Honeyman was the only other driver to stay out.
Lap 54: Caution is out for #44-Poole having a mechanical issue. He believes it’s a power steering pump.
Lap 49: #98-Herbst has marched to third position on 12-lap fresher tires.
Lap 43: #00-Custer makes two passes to get the lead. #7-Allgaier had gotten by #9-Jones for the lead but got out of the groove and bumped back to fourth.
Lap 40: #9-Jones, #7-Allgaier, #00-Custer and #20-Almirola have drafted away from the field. #88-Kvapil rounds out the top five.
Lap 32: Ten cars stayed out to get track position. #9-Jones is the new leader. #48-Kligerman, #11-Williams and #31-Retzlaff all had uncontrolled tires on pit road.
Lap 30: #98-Herbst wins Stage 1, scoring 10 stage points. #16-Allmendinger, #39-Sieg, #9-Jones, #7-Allgaier, #00-Custer, #48-Kligerman, #20-Almirola, #99-Kvapil and #38-DiBenedetto all earn stage points.
Lap 23: #98-Herbst, #39-Sieg and #16-Allmendinger have broken away from the field. #38-DiBenedetto runs fourth, nearly three seconds back. #9-Jones is the highest running car that pitted in seventh.
Lap 18: Fifteen cars stayed out to gain track position. #98-Herbst is the new race leader, with #16-Allmendinger, #39-Sieg, #11-Williams and #38-DiBenedetto rounding out the top five.
Lap 17: #81-Smith has no fuel pressure and brought out the caution as he was slow on the track.
Lap 14: #00-Custer and #20-Almirola have gapped the rest of the field by more than three seconds. #7-Allgaier has charged to fourth.
Lap 8: #00-Custer passes #98-Herbst with a push from #20-Almirola. #9-Jones files in fourth.
Lap 1: #1-Mayer got loose underneath #16-Allmendinger entering Turn 3 and spun from the top five, triggering a multi-car pileup. #81-Chandler Smith spun into Mayer, collecting #15-Josh Berry, #7-Justin Allgaier, #27-Jeb Burton, #2-Jesse Love, #51-Jeremy Clements, #8-Sammy Smith, #26-Conor Daly and a few others.

Cars to the rear: #18-Sheldon Creed (engine change), #21-Austin Hill and #48-Parker Kligerman (unapproved adjustments).

Pit Stall Selections

Fresh off his announcement that he will be returning to the Cup Series in 2025, #00-Cole Custer won the pole for the Pennzoil 250 Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at a speed of 167.582 mph. It is his fifth pole of the 2024 season and his 23rd in 163 career starts.
Stewart-Haas Racing swept the front row, with #98-Riley Herbst turning the second quickest time (166.942 mph). #20-Aric Almirola will start third (166.765 mph), as #1-Sam Mayer (166.725 mph) and #5-Anthony Alfredo (166.593 mph) rounding out the top five.
JR Motorsports teammates #9-Brandon Jones and #88-Carson Kvapil will start sixth and seventh, respectively. #16-AJ Allmendinger, #7-Justin Allgaier and #15-Josh Berry complete the top 10.
All 38 cars made the show. #48-Parker Kligerman slapped the wall during his lap.
See the complete Indianapolis Starting Lineup.

Qualifying Fast Facts — Indianapolis
Cole Custer won the Pole Award for the Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts with a lap of 53.705 seconds, 167.582 mph.
This is his 23rd pole in 163 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
This is his fifth pole and 16th top-10 start in 2024.
This is his first pole in four races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Riley Herbst (second) posted his 10th top-10 start of 2024 and his first in one race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Aric Almirola (third) posted his second top-10 start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is his fifth in six races this season.
Jesse Love (15th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Qualifying Order

Practice for the the Pennzoil 250 Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is complete. The top five, slowest, news and notes:
#81-Chandler Smith 166.756 mph
#48-Parker Kligerman 166.571 mph
#26-Conor Daly 164.995 mph
#9-Brandon Jones 164.780 mph
#98-Riley Herbst 164.735 mph
Slowest: #91-Kyle Weatherman 152.941 mph
Most laps run: #11-Josh Williams, 29
Notes: #91-Weatherman got into the wall after making just one lap. #31-Parker Retzlaff smacked the outside wall despite turning the fifth best time in practice.
See full Indianapolis Practice Results.

Crew Rosters

Goodyear Tire Notes

There are 38 drivers/teams on the entry list for the Pennzoil 250 Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. No cars will miss the race.
Notables: #07-Greg Van Alst, #10-Daniel Dye, #13-BJ McLeod, #14-TBA, #15-Josh Berry, #19-Joe Graf Jr., #20-Aric Almirola, #26-Conor Daly, #35-Joey Gase, #45-Garrett Smithley, #88-Carson Kvapil, #92-Josh Bilicki
See the full Indianapolis Entry List.

Indianapolis At-Track Schedule