Berry’s Rebound Nearly Results In New Hampshire Victory

Josh Berry (right) posted a needed second-place finish Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)

LOUDON, N.H. – Josh Berry rebounded from a hellish opening round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, where he was eliminated from title contention, and nearly walked out of New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a trophy to show for his efforts.

Crashing out at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, spinning out at World Wide Technology Raceway, and topping it all off with the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford catching on fire at Bristol meant that Berry suffered one of the worst rounds a single driver has had since the elimination playoff format began.

On top of that, Berry became just the fifth driver to finish last in three straight Cup Series races and the first to do so since 2020.

But in Sunday’s Mobil 1 301, the script was flipped on its head in the best way possible.

Berry qualified third at the ‘Magic Mile’ and put on a show from start to finish, showing contending speed that hadn’t been seen from the Wood Brothers organization in a while en route to a runner-up finish.

The Tennessee short-track ace was smooth and consistent in the early going, staying in the top five all through stage one. A late caution set up pit stops and a one-lap dash to grab points, where Berry held on for fourth.

Four laps into stage two, however, Berry became the third caution of the day, getting spun by Shane van Gisbergen off of turn two. SVG said that Berry “pinched me when I came back in there”, leading to the spin, and suddenly there was a moment where everyone thought the bad-luck bug was back again.

The good thing was, unlike Darlington and Gateway, that Berry kept the car off the walls and only suffered cosmetic damage, though he had a long road ahead to work his way back through the field.

As stage two wore on, though, it was clear Berry hadn’t lost any pace. He clawed his way through traffic, aided by cautions and a little bit of pit strategy. The end result was a 10th-place stage finish, remarkable considering the spin as well as the one-mile oval being notoriously hard to pass at.

“It was a grind for sure, but we had a really good car and we just chipped away at it,” Berry later noted. “I kind of wish at times maybe we should have stayed out or took two tires. I don’t know, but we just kept putting four on it and kept moving forward and did it the old-fashioned way. It was a lot of fun.”

Josh Berry (21) and Ryan Blaney (12) lead a restart Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Matthew Thacker/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Berry restarted the final stage where he finished the second segment, in 10th, and picked off car after car while Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney battled each other for the lead.

He got back into the top five with 83 laps to go, and when Blaney re-took the lead with 74 laps left – and then pitted from the lead with 69 to go – Berry was suddenly back into the top three.

With 63 to go, Logano pitted, handing the lead to Berry, who came in three laps later. The No. 21 cycled out about eight seconds behind Blaney and four seconds behind Logano, but his long-run speed proved he could climb back and potentially be a playoff spoiler.

With 48 to go, what would be the last caution of the day waved when Cody Ware spun while trying to retaliate against Austin Dillon for an earlier incident. Though it wasn’t optimal to his strategy, Berry stayed out for track position while the rest of the field pitted.

“We were down a set of tires after the spin. So I think it kind of forced our hand,” Berry explained. “We didn't want to take our last right [side tire]s that early with that many laps left.”

Berry chose the outside alongside Chase Elliott (who also stayed out) on the ensuing restart, and got a good push from Blaney into turn one. Just three laps later, Blaney nabbed the lead from Berry, but the No. 21 didn’t go away and remained a threat to the No. 12.

With 11 to go, Berry dove toward Blaney, but got loose off turn three. That ultimately sealed his fate, as the slide overheated his rear tires and allowed Blaney to begin gapping him to the finish.

Considering the previous three races though, a runner-up finish is exactly what the doctor ordered for Berry and the Wood Brothers.

“I was going to race him hard, but it’s definitely a tough situation, because you’ve got to take care of him. That’s how I try to race, anyway,” Berry said. “These restarts and stuff, I try to do the best I can to be smart. It’s tough out there sometimes. I was going to race him hard but clean.

“We still made the most of it though. Just a shame to finish second, but after the last couple weeks, it feels good. This is definitely what we’re capable of, and hopefully we can keep it going.”

This is Berry’s third top five and sixth top 10 of the year. Additionally, Berry’s second-place finish was only the third top five run at New Hampshire across 40 trips for the Wood Brothers No. 21. The other two were also runner-ups, one by Morgan Shepherd in 1995 and the other by Ricky Rudd in 2003.

Berry and the NASCAR Cup Series field head next to Kansas Speedway, where he finished sixth in the spring and the team has a career-best mark of second from 2004 with Rudd.

Coverage of the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by ESPN Bet airs Sunday, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. ET, live on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.