Folks, we have seen teams come and go in NASCAR. Be it the legendary Robert Yates Racing with Dale Jarrett as the face of it, or even Red Bull Racing, which had shown great promise, but perished. And that’s probably why the only team that has survived as long as NASCAR did is Wood Brothers Racing. And it’s surprising that the once legendary team now races as a backmarker! However, with Team Penske’s massive support (the WBR car is literally made in the Penske shop), and unwavering determination of the next generation of Wood Brothers, they are still fighting. And with Josh Berry, they might get their old form back.
The veteran stock racing driver is the latest to take the #21 car and take it past the checkered flag. And it’s truly a special one. It’s WBR’s hundred and first and it’s Josh Berry’s first win in the Cup Series. And if you caught the race and the post-race interview, you would have seen how Berry got emotional. No burnouts, no backflips, he just went silent. “I’m just really trying to soak this all in, honestly. I’m trying to take my time with everything and really enjoy this moment.” Well, usually a driver would have smashed watermelons or a pinata after such an achievement…but there was a reason behind his calm celebration.
Josh Berry pulled a Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Vegas
This win at Las Vegas Speedway’s Pennzoil 400 was a special one, and it deserved a special celebration. But rather, Berry after the race climbed the hood of his car, and sat there, feeling what he had achieved. He was finally a Cup Series winner. A dream all stock racing drivers have. While many were confused by his body language, his mentor, Dale Earnhardt Jr. sensed it right away. In the recent Dale Jr Download episode, he said, “I could sense like that was the moment where you were like I have climbed this mountain, the one that you started climbing back in Nashville fairgrounds. This is the view.”
And Josh Berry caught Junior by surprise as he revealed the celebration was inspired by him. In fact, by his 2014 Daytona 500 win. It was Junior’s second time winning NASCAR’s greatest race. The race where he lost his father all those years ago. So, you can do the maths of how Junior felt. And Berry wanted to feel the same.
On the show, the #21 driver said, “So, over the off-season I was watching, I turned on the new NASCAR channel that’s on. Turn it on…the 2014 Daytona 500 was on and we watched like the last 50 laps of the race. And a lot of what I did was from your celebration that night. I was like man that’s what I wanna do. Obviously I’m not a big smokey burnout, blow the tires out. Even when I raced here. When you won that race that night. You had an in-car camera it showed you like you were talking your stuff off slowly, acknowledging the fans and it just felt like you were really soaking in the moment. You can tell that. So to me, that was what I wanted to do.”
And that’s how Berry likes to do. Be it a win from his Late Model days piloting for Junior’s team (JRM), or now in the Cup. He just likes to soak it all in. “You can also hear it in my voice the emotion after. I don’t talk right away. I am a little choked up. Then I say a couple of words but they don’t come out real clear. You can see the emotion. Even I think to the days of racing at Hickory and stuff that’s what we did…swung around backward got the checkered flag, waved at the fans. The trackside parking and all these people. They are either cheering you or booing you. So that was what it was for me, trying to just soak it up as much as I could,” he added.
.@JoshBerry just wanted to take it all in after his first career Cup Series win.
Watch the @DaleJr Download here: https://t.co/V39qlX2uiT pic.twitter.com/oTjcNPL9bG
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) March 19, 2025
And can we get more such moments in 2024? Let’s hope we do.
Is Josh Berry WBR’s savior?
Wood Brothers Racing has struggled in NASCAR. They have won just four times in the last 20 years. And all of them have been one-off performances. Like Trevor Bayne winning the 2011 Daytona 500, Ryan Blaney winning the 2017 Pocono race, or Harrison Burton taking the checkered flag in a wreck-filled Coke 400, last season. And now Josh Berry has joined the trend. But let’s hope this isn’t a one-off!
Most likely, with the win, Berry is locked in the playoffs. However, it won’t be fruitful if he suffers the same faith as Burton, who got knocked out in the first round. And it seems like Berry would fare better. His win wasn’t a fluke! He remained consistent throughout the race and finally also fought Daniel Suarez to take the lead and win. Also, it’s easy to consider this a one-off since Berry’s always been good at Vegas. He has won 5 races in his Xfinity days and 2 came at Sin City.
Otherwise, the short-track superstar has struggled on the other NASCAR ovals. “I love this track. Las Vegas has been so good to me. I’ve had so many great moments here. [I] just struggled in the Next Gen car here. But man, Miles and this whole 21 team, everybody at Wood Brothers Racing, they gave me a great car today.” Even in his time with SHR, he showed promise last season. But failed to capitalize. Maybe it was Tony’s sinking team or some Chevy problem. But this year, he’s got a determined team, NASCAR’s oldest, and a manufacturer who’s remained unbeaten for the last three seasons.
So maybe this can prove to be a match made in heaven. What do you think? Would the duo win more races this season? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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