Riley Herbst to Have Harrison Burton on Standby at Martinsville

RIDGEWAY, Va. -- Riley Herbst will have Harrison Burton on standby for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

Herbst will have Burton on standby to step into his No. 35 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE after a crash last Sunday in the Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Late in the race, a multi-car crash broke out in front of him on the frontstretch on lap 184. While Joey Logano flipped in front of most of the field, taking center stage in the wreck, Herbst's car got clipped and sent into the outside wall. With no brakes and control over the car, Herbst hit the inside wall with the front end and the driver's side at high speed.

Herbst got out of the car gingerly. He went to the infield care center and reportedly declined to comment afterward. However, in the garage area, he was seen with a cast on his wrist. He also reportedly commented on the incident, joking about how he should've taken his hands off of the wheel. 

With a wrist ligament injury and a driver on standby, Herbst's situation mirrors what Christopher Bell went through this summer.

After crashing at Michigan International Speedway, Bell raced the entire race at Pocono Raceway but finished outside of the top-20. Then, the following week at Naval Base Coronado, on the treacherous, 16-turn course in the shadow of San Diego, Bell handed the car over to standby driver Brent Crews in the first stage. 

Martinsville officially has a quarter of the corners that Naval Base Coronado but, with 500 laps, about as many turns for Herbst to face. The first two stages will end on laps 125 and 250, giving Herbst adequate time to get a feel for if he will go the distance.

Two months ago, Herbst missed the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway after a concussion in a crash during a Cup Series race the week before at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Burton, the 2024 winner of the 400-mile Daytona race, filled in for Herbst. He finished 12th and handed the car back to Herbst the following week at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500. 

Herbst sits 30th in the Cup points standings, where he has been since sitting out Daytona. His best finish in the eight races since then, including Darlington is 18th -- at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has finishes of 25th at Kansas Speedway and 26th at Talladega despite the crash -- and four finishes of 30th or worse.