Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 NASCAR Ford Mustang in the Xfinity Series, managed to save enough fuel in his race car to score a fourth-place result at Pocono Raceway on July 22nd, 2023.
A wild race culminated in an Overtime finish, making fuel mileage a factor in the closing laps as teams stretched their fuel economy to the absolute limit. Herbst was one such driver, as he wasn’t sure that he would have enough in the fuel cell of the No. 98 Mustang to get across the finish line. Thankfully, he had enough to cross the line in fourth, posting a decent result at a track he’s admittedly not too fond of.
“We finished fourth and that’s what we needed at a track I don’t particularly love,” Herbst said. “Lucky to get out of here with a top five.”
Herbst now sits in 12th in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, right on the cutoff line, as only the top 12 contenders will be allowed to compete for the postseason championship. He’s 26 points ahead of Parker Kligerman, driver of the No. 48 Chevy Camaro, who is 13th in the Playoffs and in danger of being eliminated.
Brett Moffit finished eighth in the No. 25 Mustang, the only other NASCAR Ford to finish within the top 10 at Pocono. Meanwhile, Austin Hill led the field to the checkered flag in the No. 21 Camaro for his fourth win of the 2023 season.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Persil Toyota | 206 | 137 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 2 | 1 | 16 | Chandler Smith # | Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 206 | 10 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 3 | 8 | 21 | Austin Hill | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 4 | 11 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Campers Inn RV Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 5 | 7 | 18 | Sammy Smith # | TMC Toyota | 206 | 18 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 6 | 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | BRANDT Chevrolet | 206 | 27 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 7 | 20 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Rocky Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 8 | 22 | 92 | Josh Williams | Sleep Well/Alloy Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 9 | 12 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Technical Solutions Ford | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 10 | 33 | 8 | Mason Massey | BRUNT Ford | 206 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 5 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Watts Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 12 | 21 | 91 | Alex Labbe | VR Victoriaville Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 13 | 38 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Island Coastal Lager Toyota | 206 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 14 | 28 | 35 | Patrick Emerling | Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 15 | 16 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Spartan Waste/Fox Sports 98.3 Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | 9 | 10 | Austin Dillon(i) | LA Golf Chevrolet | 206 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 17 | 3 | 8 | Josh Berry | Jarrett Logistics Systems Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 18 | 10 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 19 | 29 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Costa Oil Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 20 | 14 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 206 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 21 | 17 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Whelen Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 22 | 6 | 00 | Cole Custer | HAAS Automation Ford | 205 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 26 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Onsite Power Academy Ford | 205 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 24 | 6 | Brennan Poole | 511Auction.com Chevrolet | 204 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 25 | 32 | 02 | Blaine Perkins # | Inflatable Park Chevrolet | 203 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 26 | 25 | 24 | Connor Mosack | FW Webb Company Toyota | 203 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 27 | 23 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | TEAMJDMOTORSPORTS.COM Chevrolet | 202 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 28 | 35 | 53 | CJ McLaughlin | SciAps Chevrolet | 201 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | 19 | 19 | Joe Graf Jr. | Rocky's ACE Hardware Toyota | 196 | 8 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 30 | 31 | 38 | Chris Hacker(i) | Morgan & Morgan Ford | 195 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 13 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff # | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | 190 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 32 | 15 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet | 70 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 33 | 37 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | CMRroofing.com Ford | 70 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 34 | 18 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Steele Group Chevrolet | 70 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 35 | 34 | 66 | Chad Finchum | Wild Willies Ford | 60 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 30 | 7 | Stefan Parsons | Ollie's/Rich Mar Florist Chevrolet | 48 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 37 | 27 | 44 | Rajah Caruth(i) | Circle Chevrolet | 47 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 38 | 36 | 45 | Greg Van Alst | CB Fabricating Chevrolet | 17 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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