Harrison Burton replaces Riley Herbst at 23XI for Daytona NASCAR Cup race

The 23XI Racing driver reported “lingering effects” from a heavy crash one week ago

23XI Racing announced that there will be a driver change behind the wheel of the No. 35 Toyota for Saturday night's regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

Herbst qualified fifth for the race, but he won't even be able to start the event. Harrison Burton, who won the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, will replace him behind the wheel of the 23XI Racing entry.

"After a strong effort in qualifying yesterday, Riley Herbst woke up with lingering effects from last weekend's incident, and, along with the team, decided it was in his best interest to step out of the car for tonight's race at Daytona International Speedway," a statement from the team read, before confirming Burton as his replacement.

Herbst hit the wall heavily at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after contact with Michael McDowell. He was then hit after the fact by Connor Zilisch, who arrived to the accident scene a few seconds later.

Riley Herbst crash damage, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Herbst will exit 23XI Racing at the end of the year, making room for Corey Heim as his 2027 replacement. He currently sits 26th in the championship standings.

The car will move to the rear of the field due to the Daytona driver change. Burton will get all credit for the final finishing position, in what will be his first Cup race since he was a full-time driver for the Wood Brothers in 2024. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series with Sam Hunt Racing (another Toyota team), finishing eighth on Friday.