2 weeks agoJosh Berry is officially a NASCAR Cup Series winner--and it wasn't a fluke victory. Although he only led 18 of the 267 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Berry was strong from start to finish, boasting the third-best average running position during the Pennzoil 400 and having the fourth-fastest Green Flag Speed. This win comes in Berry's 53rd career Cup Series starts and a strong indicator that Wood Brothers Racing made the correct decision in signing him this year. Berry now sits 13th in the points standings after five races and is one of just five drivers to have multiple top-five finishes this year.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
2 weeks agoJosh Berry qualifying well is starting to become rather routine, and his seventh-place starting position for Sunday's race at Las Vegas is consistent with that. However, he tends to be very slow on unrestricted intermediate tracks, and he only finished 20th and 24th in last year's Las Vegas races. Admittedly, he was a rookie, but the track hasn't really suited him to begin with -- in his Hendrick Motorsports debut at Las Vegas two years ago, he only finished 29th, while his three regular teammates swept the top three. For all the speed Berry had at Atlanta and Phoenix, he's almost guaranteed to lose positions here, making him clearly one of the worst options unless you think he'll lead laps in Stage 1 when most of the better drivers are starting behind him. Given his recent form, it's certainly not inconceivable, but don't bet on it.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 weeks agoJosh Berry had one of the best runs for a Wood Brothers driver in years in Sunday's Phoenix race. After starting fourth, Berry ran in the top five for almost the entire first stage but fell to 29th after a loose lug nut during the race's fourth caution. Luckily, he managed to evade the multi-car pileup on the ensuing restart, which elevated him to 19th. After working his way back up to 10th at the end of Stage 2, he eventually worked his way up to a fourth-place finish, exactly where he started. This made him the first No. 21 driver since Matt DiBenedetto in 2021 to score a driver rating over 100, start and finish in the top five in the same race, and earn a top-five finish on a non-drafting oval. If Berry can stop crashing so much, he might be a playoff contender.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 weeks agoJosh Berry has a knack for qualifying in the NASCAR Cup Series although it often escapes notice. After seven top five qualifying runs in his rookie season and another at Atlanta this year, he starts on the outside of Row 2 at Phoenix today, the best starting position on a non-drafting oval for the No. 21 car since Matt DiBenedetto at Michigan in 2021. Since the Wood Brothers is currently a Team Penske satellite and Penske tends to place disproportionate focus on this track because it hosts the championship race, it might not be surprising Berry is fast, but while he sometimes shows the propensity to battle for the lead and could earn some lap leader points for DFS, he's also the most crash-prone driver and hardly consistent enough to be worth betting on. It wouldn't be surprising if he ran well, but he'll likely finish worse than he starts.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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