Josh Berry has joined an exclusive list of 20 drivers who have found victory lane with NASCAR's oldest team. Piloting the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford Mustang, Berry had to battle around Daniel Suarez to become the newest winner in the NASCAR Cup Series.
"I don't even know what to think," said Berry, who won for the first time in his 53rd start on Sunday. "Just awesome. I love this track. Las Vegas has been so good to me. I've had so many great moments. Just struggled in the Next Gen car here, but Miles [Stanley crew chief] and everybody at Wood Brothers Racing have given me a great car today. We just battled, battled, and battled, and it was our day. I just can't believe it. Such a battle with Daniel [Suarez] at the end, beating and banging at a 1.5 miler is crazy. But whoever was going to get out front was probably going to win, and we were able to get in front of him."
The Wood Brothers add another first-time winner
Berry quickly proved he had the talent to win at the Cup level when he filled in for an injured Chase Elliott, finishing second at Richmond during the 2023 season. After several other roles as a fill-in driver, he finally got his full-time shot with Stewart-Haas Racing last year, but when that organization shut down, he then landed the opportunity to join one of the most historic teams in the sport.
For the Wood Brothers, this is now their 101st victory as a NASCAR Cup Series team. The first came way back in 1960 and the team itself has been running Cup races since the early '50s. And a surprising statistic continuing at Las Vegas? The last five drivers to win with the No. 21 car (including Berry) are all first-time winners.
"It's just incredible," said Berry about being a part of the Wood Brothers team, having joined during the off-season. "They've been so good to me. It's been a great relationship. Obviously, thank everybody at Wood Brothers Racing, but Team Penske as well. They've welcomed me with open arms and tried to help me and accelerate this learning process as much as I can. I really can't say enough for Miles Stanley. He is so good at what he's doing and we have a great thing going on together. He really believes in me."
How it happened
The race appeared to be coming down to fuel-mileage in the closing laps until a caution for Noah Gragson put everyone on equal footing.
Berry restarted on the outside of Suarez for what would be the final restart with 19 laps to go. Suarez initially got clear, but Berry battled back to snatch the lead away with just 13 laps left. From that point onward, he simply drove away to collect the Wood Brothers their first win on a non-drafting track since 2017.
Suarez came home second, 1.3s back of Berry at the line. Ryan Preece matched his career-best finish with third, William Byron was fourth, and Ross Chastain finished fifth in a double top-five for Trackhouse Racing Team.
Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-ten.
Christopher Bell, who was chasing a historic fourth consecutive victory in the Cup Series, ended up finishing 12th on track.
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Full results
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Pits | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
J. BerryWood Brothers Racing
|
21 | Ford | 267 |
3:13'12.966 |
10 | 46 | ||
| 2 | D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing | 99 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+1.358 3:13'14.324 |
1.358 | 10 | 39 | |
| 3 | R. PreeceRFK Racing | 60 | Ford | 267 |
+3.525 3:13'16.491 |
2.167 | 10 | 34 | |
| 4 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+4.234 3:13'17.200 |
0.709 | 12 | 42 | |
| 5 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+4.334 3:13'17.300 |
0.100 | 11 | 40 | |
| 6 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | 267 |
+4.787 3:13'17.753 |
0.453 | 12 | 41 | |
| 7 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+5.224 3:13'18.190 |
0.437 | 12 | 39 | |
| 8 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+5.809 3:13'18.775 |
0.585 | 10 | 34 | |
| 9 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+6.335 3:13'19.301 |
0.526 | 11 | 44 | |
| 10 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+6.754 3:13'19.720 |
0.419 | 13 | 35 | |
| 11 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | 267 |
+7.024 3:13'19.990 |
0.270 | 11 | 26 | |
| 12 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 267 |
+8.132 3:13'21.098 |
1.108 | 11 | 26 | |
| 13 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | 267 |
+8.472 3:13'21.438 |
0.340 | 12 | 24 | |
| 14 | J. HaleySpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+8.653 3:13'21.619 |
0.181 | 11 | 23 | |
| 15 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | 267 |
+9.081 3:13'22.047 |
0.428 | 10 | 26 | |
| 16 | M. McDowellSpire Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+9.913 3:13'22.879 |
0.832 | 11 | 21 | |
| 17 | C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 267 |
+10.502 3:13'23.468 |
0.589 | 13 | 20 | |
| 18 | R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports | 47 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+11.536 3:13'24.502 |
1.034 | 11 | 20 | |
| 19 | R. Herbst23XI Racing | 35 | Toyota | 267 |
+12.076 3:13'25.042 |
0.540 | 12 | 18 | |
| 20 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | 267 |
+12.445 3:13'25.411 |
0.369 | 10 | 17 | |
| 21 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 10 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+12.634 3:13'25.600 |
0.189 | 10 | 16 | |
| 22 | T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing | 54 | Toyota | 267 |
+13.586 3:13'26.552 |
0.952 | 12 | 15 | |
| 23 | Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | 267 |
+13.839 3:13'26.805 |
0.253 | 11 | 14 | |
| 24 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | 267 |
+13.908 3:13'26.874 |
0.069 | 10 | 16 | |
| 25 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | 267 |
+14.484 3:13'27.450 |
0.576 | 12 | 12 | |
| 26 | C. CusterHaas Factory Team | 41 | Ford | 267 |
+16.202 3:13'29.168 |
1.718 | 12 | 11 | |
| 27 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | 266 |
+1 Lap 3:13'36.406 |
1 Lap | 12 | 10 | |
| 28 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | 266 |
+1 Lap 3:13'43.008 |
6.602 | 11 | 23 | |
| 29 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | 265 |
+2 Laps 3:13'14.979 |
1 Lap | 14 | 8 | |
| 30 | C. HocevarSpire Motorsports | 77 | Chevrolet | 265 |
+2 Laps 3:13'38.668 |
23.689 | 11 | 15 | |
| 31 | N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports | 4 | Ford | 241 |
+26 Laps 2:54'59.053 |
24 Laps | 9 | 6 | |
| 32 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | 240 |
+27 Laps 3:13'15.038 |
1 Lap | 10 | 5 | |
| 33 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet | 232 |
+35 Laps 3:13'38.181 |
8 Laps | 14 | 4 | |
| 34 | S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing | 88 | Chevrolet | 195 |
+72 Laps 2:35'13.962 |
37 Laps | 14 | 3 | |
| 35 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 194 |
+73 Laps 2:24'58.826 |
1 Lap | 9 | 7 | |
| 36 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 51 | Ford | 186 |
+81 Laps 2:14'09.037 |
8 Laps | 7 | 1 |
