Yahoo Autos Herbst’s Darlington shout-out to Ken Block
During the summer of 2010, Ken Block and his team dreamed up Ken Block’s Gymkhana Three, Part 2; Ultimate Playground; L’Autodrome; France.
A 10 year-old kid from Las Vegas, Nevada was intrigued by Block’s video. Fourteen years later, Riley Herbst will have his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Xfinity car carry the same exact Gymkhana Three ‘Drip’ color scheme at Darlington Raceway this weekend.
“I was a huge Ken Block fan. I still am,” said Herbst of the rally driver and marketing visionary who lost his life in a snowmobile accident in January.
“I just thought it was so cool with the legacy Ken left behind, and how big of a person and a personality he was. Ken was part of the Monster Energy family and it was so cool to come up with the idea with the car and then to have the upper levels at Monster Energy approve it and to have the Block family approve it.
More NASCAR!
NASCAR racing toward first Chicago Street Race, ‘but it’s a fun fast’
Penske's No.2 team penalized for wheel infraction at Kansas
Sure, Ross Chastain is polarizing - but he's great for NASCAR
“I was in love with that Drip scheme ever since I was a young kid watching it on YouTube back in 2010, and it was just a perfect fit for us. I remember getting home from school and just sitting on the computer and watching Gymkhana videos all day long. I was just immersed in everything Ken Block. I got to meet him a few times, which was really cool. Now and full circle, getting to run his paint scheme is very humbling.
“Man, I remember watching late night television World Rally Championship stuff of him running over in Europe. I thought that was so cool because I had never really seen anything like it. I remember dragging my Dad to the X Games in Los Angeles to watch Ken compete in the Coliseum. I just have really cool memories of Ken like that.”
Currently eighth in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series standings, Herbst has yet to win an Xfinity race. He’s hoping to change all of that in the No. 98 car this Saturday afternoon at the ‘Track Too Tough to Tame..’
“We finished third there last year at Darlington, so we’re looking forward to go win this race this year and just be dominant, man,” he said.
“Our first six weeks of the year were so good. We were leading the points, and then the last four weeks now have been a little bit more rough for us, but we are ready to get back on track and go win this weekend at Darlington. The Xfinity competition this year is just super-deep and as you know, racing is cyclical and you have to take the good with the bad, and after you have a bad race, you have to bounce back. This is a perfect opportunity for us to bounce back this weekend in a really cool car.”
