Riley Herbst will not be competing in the 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 29.
Herbst’s decision not to compete was due to the Las Vegas native experiencing lingering effects from last weekend’s incident at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, an incident that also involved Connor Zilisch ramming into Herbst’s wrecked entry after the latter was bumped by Michael McDowell exiting the backstretch on Lap 225 of 301.
Just a day prior, Herbst qualified in fifth place for Saturday night’s regular-season finale of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season at the World Center of Racing. Herbst is currently ranked in 26th place in the 2026 standings on the strength of three top-10 results, five laps led and an average-finishing result of 22.2.
Through a released statement by 23XI Racing, the organization noted that it was in the best interest of itself and Herbst for the latter not to compete. As a result, Harrison Burton will pilot 23XI Racing’s No. 35 Toyota Camry XSE entry.
Burton, a full-time O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competitor for Sam Hunt Racing, will compete alongside teammates Corey Heim, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace. Saturday night’s event at Daytona is scheduled to mark his 110th career start in the Cup Series division and first since the 2024 finale at Phoenix Raceway.
The 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled to commence on Saturday, Augst 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
