Riley Herbst and John Hunter Nemechek rallied from adversity by notching top-15 results during the 2026 FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 7.
Herbst, a Las Vegas native, entered this past weekend’s Michigan festivities with uncertainties looming towards next season. The week prior, at Nashville Superspeedway, it was announced that Corey Heim would replace Herbst for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season. Nevertheless, Herbst did not let his future uncertainties overshadow his task of concluding the 2026 season on a strong note. His Michigan weekend started strong as he rolled off the starting grid during Sunday’s main event in 12th place, which marked his third-best starting spot of the 2026 season.
During the Michigan event, Herbst spent the early portions racing towards the bottom half of the top-10 mark and accumulated a total of two stage points by settling in ninth place at the first stage’s conclusion. Throughout the second stage period, he barely dodged a multi-car wreck through the frontstretch during a Lap 82 restart that eliminated his teammate and series’ points leader, Tyler Reddick. It was during this latest stage period that he raced up as high as third place on the leaderboard before he dropped to 12th place.
Before the start of the third and final stage period, Herbst lost a bevy of spots on pit road during the second stage’s break period. After restarting just outside the top-25 mark at the start of the third and final stage period, he spent the event’s remainder navigating his way back towards the front. After navigating his way through three caution periods, late on-track incidents and four restarts, including the final one with 39 laps remaining, Herbst nursed his No. 35 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE entry across the finish line in 13th place when the checkered flag flew.
Herbst’s 13th-place result marked his sixth top-20 result of the 2026 season, his 14th within the top-15 mark, his third-best result on the track and his best-ever result at Michigan. He also improved his average-finishing result from 23.8 to 21.5, which stands in stark contrast to his rookie Cup season (2025), when his average-finishing result was 26.6 and he was mired in 35th place in the standings. Following this year’s Michigan event, Herbst jumped from 27th to 26th and he trails the top-16 cutline to make the 2026 Chase for the Cup by 82 points with 11 regular-season events until the Chase commences.
Herbst’s next event on the 2026 Cup Series schedule is Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, for the Great American Getaway 400 this upcoming Sunday, June 14. During his lone Cup start at Pocono in 2025, he ended up in 37th place after he was eliminated from an early accident. Having made five previous starts at Pocono in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division and notching two top-10 results, including a career-best fourth in 2023, Herbst will attempt to improve his on-track Cup result at Pocono in a monstrous way that could net him a major gain towards making the Chase and netting him a potential first Cup victory in his swan song season at 23XI Racing.
Meanwhile, Nemechek entered Michigan mired in 28th place in the standings, one spot behind Herbst. By then, the Mooresville, North Carolina, native was coming off his 11th result outside of the top-20 mark as he finished in 24th place in Nashville Superspeedway. He was also mired in 28th place in the standings and faced with a 103-point deficit towards the Chase cutline. Compared to Herbst, Nemechek was set to remain at Legacy Motor Club (LMC) for the 2027 season after Rexel USA was announced to sponsor Nemechek and his No. 42 Toyota entry for multiple Cup events next season as part of an expanded partnership with LMC.
Taking the green flag in 17th place at Michigan, which marked his third-best start of the 2026 season, Nemechek marched his way to an 11th-place result at the conclusion of the first stage period. He then spent the early portions of the second stage period racing inside the top-10 mark and was scored as high as sixth place in the leaderboard. During a Lap 82 restart, however, Nemechek was bumped by Carson Hocevar. This caused Nemechek to get loose and run into the side of Bubba Wallace before he spun through the frontstretch’s grass. It also left Nemechek fuming towards Hocevar for a second consecutive event after the former was sent for a spin through the frontstretch by the latter during the final stage period at Nashville.
With most of the on-track carnages igniting in front of him, Nemechek was able to nurse his No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry XSE entry back to pit road for repairs and continue towards the tail end of the field. After managing to remain on the lead lap category when the second stage period concluded, he restarted in 30th place when the third and final stage period commenced with 74 laps remaining. By navigating his way through three caution periods and dodging a series of late on-track incidents, including a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch with 46 laps remaining, Nemechek proceeded to battle his way back into the top-15 mark during a 39-lap shootout. When the checkered flag flew, he settled in 14th place.
With the result, Nemechek notched his fourth top-20 result, his second-best result through 14 events of the 2026 Cup Series season and his first top-15 result at Michigan. Compared to a year ago at this point, Nemechek’s current average finishing result of 24.1 is slightly lower than 21.9 from a year ago. In addition, he is six spots lower in the current driver’s standings from the 2025 season, the latter season of which had him ranked in 22nd place through 14 events. This season, Nemechek remained in 28th place in the standings and is 96 points below the Chase cutline.
Looking ahead, Nemechek travels to Pocono Raceway, where he has made four prior Cup starts and notched a sixth-place result in the 2025 event. He has also made three O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts and notched a Truck victory at Pocono during the 2021 season. As both he and Erik Jones notched strong results at Michigan for LMC, both competitors strive to extend the brewing competitiveness within the organization, run by seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, and notch the organization’s first victory under its current LMC banner.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season for both Riley Herbst and John Hunter Nemechek continues with the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, this upcoming Sunday, June 14, at 3 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
