Riley Herbst at 9:30 pm ET on Monday, November 30, 2015 Photo – Riley Herbst Facebook page
Riley Herbst is our guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, November 30th at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite @Sal_Sigala or @beberly18 with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
The 2015 season has been a good one for Riley Herbst, the 16-year-old from California, racing at Irwindale Speedway in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series and the Super Trucks Series. Herbst won the Super Truck Series championship as a rookie and finished fifth in the late-model All-American Series and is now capping off his season with the Bill McAnally Racing announcement last week that he’ll make his début in the K&N Pro Series West next season, racing full-time.
Herbst also earned Rookie of the Year honors and is a third generation driver, who has watched his father and grandfather compete in off-road racing classics such as the Baja 500 and 1000. Developing his passion for racing, the younger Herbst started racing Go-Karts at the age of five and in 2007 he transitioned to Trophy Karts. By 2012, Herbst was racing on ovals with Legend Cars.
BMR team owner, Bill McAnally runs a top-tier organization in the K&N West, and is known for recognizing young talent by earning his sixth championship in 2015 with Chris Eggleston, which tied a record for the series and throughout NASCAR’s Regional Touring level. The team also celebrated its 25th anniversary with NAPA AUTO PARTS as a sponsor, which speaks to McAnally’s ability to nurture that relationship. Herbst talent is clear and McAnally wasted no time in bringing Riley to BMR for the next step of his career.
“Riley demonstrates a great passion for racing every time he gets behind the wheel,” McAnally said. “We anticipate great success from him as he graduates to the K&N Pro Series West. We’re glad to have him become a part of the BMR team.”
Although McAnally says they’re still working on decisions about the rest of his 2016 stable of drivers, what is known is that along with Herbst, Chris Eggleston and Todd Gilliland – son of Sprint Cup Series driver David Gilliland – are three drivers racing for BMR next year. Both Herbst and Gilliland were part of a group taking part in the NAPA Filters Drivers Expo presented by Toyota that BMR conducted this past summer.
“I was impressed with the way they both conducted themselves on and off the track,” McAnally said. “Joining with Chris, they make for a trio of drivers who we are proud to have represent BMR and our corporate partners in 2016.”
Excited about taking the next step of his young career with Bill McAnally Racing, Herbst is ready to learn in his rookie season with the organization.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to drive for Bill McAnally Racing in 2016,” Herbst said. “I’m looking forward to a great season. Coming into the K&N Pro Series, I plan to learn as much as possible, with a goal of finishing every lap.
“The knowledge and experience of everyone at BMR will be a great benefit to me as I tackle the challenges of my rookie season in the series,” he said.
Knowing the success of Bill McAnally Racing over the years, it seems an obvious conclusion that fans need watch what continues to develop for the 2016 season as McAnally expects to make more driver announcements in the coming weeks.