Drew Herring, a test driver for Toyota Racing Development, is set to make his Cup Series debut Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC).
Gaunt Brothers Racing announced Tuesday that Herring, 32, will drive its No. 96 Toyota in the championship race.
Herring, a native of Benson, North Carolina, spends most of his time in Salisbury, North Carolina, testing setups for TRD and its affiliated race teams.
Herring has 22 Xfinity Series starts, with the last coming in the 2017 spring race at Phoenix. His best finish is fourth at Kentucky in 2012 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am,” Herring said in a press release. “I spend so much time getting to fine tune these awesome race cars, to get back out there on track, in real racing conditions, at maybe the biggest race of the season, it’s really an incredible opportunity.”
Sunday’s race will be the 15th of the season for Gaunt Brothers Racing. NBC Sports analyst Parker Kligerman has been the driver of the No. 96 in the first 14 starts.
The team is coming off its best finish on a non-superspeedway track as Kligerman finished 22nd at Texas Motor Speedway.
“So much of Toyota’s success on track comes from preparation,” says team owner Marty Gaunt in a press release. “The teams, engineers, crew members, drivers, and TRD as an organization are always working so hard to be the best, and Drew plays a very big role in that. Not only am I confident he’ll run a good race, I also believe his feedback will make us an even better race team.”
Super excited for my buddy @Drew_Herring . He’s a wheelman who deserves the opportunity. NBC is incredibly gracious with letting me race as much as I do, but I’ve always committed I wouldn’t do this race.
— Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) November 12, 2019
Looking forward to a great championship weekend! https://t.co/M3iuvPj9wI