“He is better than people think”: 23XI Racing’s Denny Hamlin makes ‘expectations’ clear for 25-year-old Riley Herbst

23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin recently shared his expectations from the new addition to the Toyota roster, Riley Herbst, for the upcoming NASCAR Cup rookie season. Herbst, a 25-year-old Las Vegas native, will wheel in the No. 35 for the Huntersville, North Carolina-based organization.

After the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing's operational shutdown last season, Herbst landed a ride with Hamlin and NBA icon Michael Jordan's co-owned venture for the 2025 NASCAR Cup season. Having been a part of the Joe Gibbs Racing and now-defunct SHR in the Xfinity Series, Herbst also boasts a handful of Cup starts.

As Riley Herbst heads for his rookie Cup season, Denny Hamlin shared his expectations from the three-time Xfinity race winner. He said (via Toby Christie):

"My expectations are that he is going to perform better than 95 percent of people’s expectations. I think there is still going to be a learning curve there, but I just want to see him get better as the year goes on. I know that is a cliché answer, but I believe he is better than people think. I know his team is good. I really want to see him contend inside the top-20 on a regular basis by race 15."

It is worth mentioning that Herbst is only set to compete with Trakhouse Racing driver Shane Van Gisbergen for the NASCAR Cup Rookie honors for the 2025 season.

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"This is good stuff": Riley Herbst makes his feelings known ahead of the first official race of the 2025 season

NASCAR: 23XI Racing driver Riley Herbst at the Daytona 500 Media Day - Source: Imagn

Riley Herbst recently expressed his thoughts on starting his rookie NASCAR Cup Series season for 23XI Racing. Previously, Herbst has competed two times at the 'Great American Race', finishing once inside the top 10.

During the recent Daytona 500 media day, Herbst opened up on the confidence he has for this opportunity in NASCAR's premier series and said (via Toby Christie):

"It is a different team, different manufacturer, but I’m confident. I know that I can do this. I believe in my talents. I believe in my capabilities, and now I’m at a team that believes in my capabilities as well, and we are looking forward to good things this year, and we know there will be a learning curve, but it is going to be fun. This weekend is going to be fun. This is my first year, rookie year Daytona 500, so this is good stuff."

Riley Herbst will join Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick under the 23XI Racing roster for the upcoming season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 16.