![\"NASCAR](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nascar-cup-series-dollar-tree-301-practice-loudon-new-hampshire.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – AUGUST 22: Riley Herbst, driver of the #35 Monster Energy Toyota, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Dollar Tree 301at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 22, 2026 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Riley Herbst will return to the NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> this weekend after a concussion forced him out of the Daytona race. The 23XI Racing<\/a> driver confirmed Saturday at Darlington Raceway<\/a> that he has recovered and received clearance to compete in the Cook Out Southern 500.<\/p>\n Herbst missed Daytona after concussion symptoms returned on race day, despite passing the required tests earlier in the week and qualifying fifth for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.<\/p>\n The setback came after a hard crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway<\/a>, where contact with Michael McDowell sent his No. 35 Toyota backward into the Turn 3 wall. Connor Zilisch then struck the stopped car, adding another heavy impact.<\/p>\n Riley Herbst Concussion Symptoms Return Before Daytona<\/p>\n Herbst said<\/a> he was diagnosed with a concussion after the New Hampshire crash. He believed he had recovered and passed all the required tests before Daytona.<\/p>\n \u201cI got diagnosed with a concussion after the wreck in Loudon, and I thought that I was cleared to pass. I passed all my tests the week leading up to Daytona,\u201d Herbst said.<\/p>\n He qualified fifth but woke up Saturday feeling much worse.<\/p>\n \u201cWoke up Saturday morning feeling really, really rough, trouble with all the symptoms, the worst I\u2019ve had since the wreck,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Herbst and 23XI Racing then decided to withdraw him from the NASCAR Cup Series race. Harrison Burton replaced him in the No. 35 Toyota and started from the rear.<\/p>\n NASCAR Cup Series Driver Says He Is Back to 100%<\/p>\n Herbst said the concussion symptoms were difficult to predict because they could return without warning.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really know. They come and go,\u201d Herbst said.<\/p>\n He also explained why the concussion recovery process differs from a visible injury.<\/p>\n \u201cConcussions are a super weird health issue, health problem that, honestly, it\u2019s an evolving matter. It\u2019s not like you can X-ray your arm and see a broken bone or see it not broken. It\u2019s all about how you feel, and one day you can feel 100%, and then I can wake up Saturday morning like I did last week and struggle to get out of bed.\u201d<\/p>\n Herbst said he believes removing him from Daytona was the correct decision.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, it was a rough process, but obviously I think myself, NASCAR, Atrium Health, we all did the right thing last week in taking me out of the race car for the betterment of myself and obviously the field of race car drivers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Riley Herbst Cleared for Darlington NASCAR Race<\/p>\n Herbst said he has had no further symptoms this week and feels fully recovered ahead of his NASCAR return.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you. Yeah, no, it\u2019s good. No symptoms this week, back to 100%, so yeah, concussion-free,\u201d Herbst said.<\/p>\n He also said rest played a key role in his recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you just kind of have to rest, rest, rest, and hopefully you can beat the symptoms sooner than you want,\u201d Herbst said.<\/p>\n The Cook Out Southern 500 gives Herbst his first NASCAR Cup Series race since the concussion forced him out at Daytona. The Darlington Raceway event also comes as he prepares for a move to Legacy Motor Club for the 2027 season.<\/p>\n Herbst now enters the NASCAR Cup Series race cleared to compete after completing the required evaluations and reporting no symptoms during the week.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – AUGUST 22: Riley Herbst, driver of the #35 Monster Energy Toyota, drives during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-884700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}