Zachary John Daniel Herrin (born November 17, 1995) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver who currently competes part-time in the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into ...

driving the No. 12

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

for

Fast Track Racing Fast Track Racing (also known as Fast Track High-Performance Racing or Fast Track Racing Enterprises) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes full time in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East, fie ...

Racing career

Early career

Born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

, Zach began racing motorcycles at the age of 5, competing in amateur championships until the age of 16. In 2012, Zach began his professional career in the AMA Pro SuperSport Championship. Zach then moved on to

superkart Superkart is a form of motorsport road racing that uses karts on long circuits. The bigger difference between a superkart and most other forms of kart is that they have full aerodynamic bodykits, as well as having a longer wheel base than sprint ...

s in 2013, competing in the SKUSA Pro Tour and SKUSA SuperNationals. In 2014, Zach competed in legends cars in the INEX Winter Nationals series. For the 2016 season, Herrin returned to the SKUSA Pro Tour and SKUSA SuperNationals.

Personal life

Herrin left the motorsports industry for 4 years after discovering that he needed time to realize his authentic self as a member of the

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community (he is openly gay). He began a career in real estate and in 2022 returned to motorsports competing in the

2022 ARCA Menards Series West The 2022 ARCA Menards Series West was the 69th season of the ARCA Menards Series West, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began on March 11 at Phoenix Raceway with the General Tire 150 (Ph ...

finale at

Phoenix Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a Oval track racing#Unique shapes, dogleg oval track in A ...

. He is the younger brother of former Moto2 rider and 2013 AMA Superbike champion

Josh Herrin Joshua James Herrin (born May 23, 1990) is an American Motorcycle Racer#Road racing, motorcycle racer. He currently competes in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Team. Racing history Amateur career Herri ...

Return to racing

ARCA Menards Series

On January 16, 2022, Herrin began his ARCA series career at the

Daytona Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Dayto ...

Pre-Season practice, driving for

, marking his return to professional racing since

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

. He plans to compete in a limited schedule in the

in 2022, then expand to a larger ARCA/NASCAR schedule in 2023.

Racing Pride

Zach is a member of the founding class of the North American expansion of Racing Pride.

Awards/Accolades

In 2023, Zach was named to

Out (magazine) ''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. ''Out'' was owned by Robert Hardman of Boston, its original investor, until 2 ...

's 2023 Out100: a prestigious compilation of the year's most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people. Zach is the first motorsports athlete to receive this honor. In 2024, Zach was honored by

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

's Drive for Diversity Awards in the "Developmental Series Driver" category. Zach is "an exemplary advocate for LGBTQ+ people in the motorsports industry, integrating inclusion into his ethos through building partnerships with organizations such as

Lambda Legal The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS ( PWAs) throug ...

and representing the sport in a positive light both on and off the race track."

Motorsports career results

ARCA Menards Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series West

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrin, Zach 1995 births 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American sportsmen ARCA Menards Series drivers LGBTQ people from California LGBTQ racing drivers American gay sportsmen Living people Sportspeople from Glendale, California Racing drivers from California