Herbst began racing karts as a five-year-old.[2] He progressed through legends, Speed Trucks, and Super Late Models.[2] In 2015, he raced weekly at Irwindale Speedway in a Super Late Model as well as winning the track's Speed Trucks championship.[
Herbst is from a family rooted in off-road racing. His father Troy, grandfather Jerry, and uncles Ed and Tim participate in desert racing such as the Baja 500 and Baja 1000.[2][3] The quartet was inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame in 2014
In May 2018, Herbst was named to the 2018 NASCAR Next class.[3] In June 2018, Herbst joined JGR for his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Iowa Speedway. For the 2019 season, he split JGR's No. 18 with Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin
In 2020, Herbst assumed full-time driving duties in the No. 18. He qualified for the playoffs but was eliminated following the first round.[14] He ended the year with a 12th-place points finish, four top-five finishes, 17 top tens, and a best finish of second at Auto Club Speedway and Kentucky Speedway
On December 10, 2020, Stewart-Haas Racing announced Herbst would drive the No. 98 Ford beginning with the 2021 season. After a rough start to the season that saw his involvement in wrecks—none of which were of his doing—in three of the first four races