HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Josh Berry’s maiden NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas last weekend may have come as a surprise to the racing world, but it was no fluke.
Six days removed from the Wood Brothers’ second win in as many seasons, Berry’s contemporaries had nothing but praise for the second-year Cup driver. From his success in late models to Xfinity Series success and now a trip to Victory Lane in NASCAR’s premier series, Berry’s rise came as no shock.
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“I expected him to win,” said Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. “I think for people that aren’t looking at it as close as we all do, maybe they didn’t, but I know Josh is capable.”
Preece, 34, has had a similar path to the Cup Series as Berry, grinding out years in the local scene, racing modifieds before landing his opportunities in the national series. Preece was also in sight of the No. 21 Ford as the checkered flag waved last weekend as he matched a career best third-place finish at Vegas.
Along with Preece, Chase Briscoe was teammates with Berry in the final season for Stewart-Haas Racing last year. Briscoe scored his first Cup win in 2022 at Phoenix Raceway and returned to Victory Lane in rousing fashion last year by holding off Kyle Busch to win the Southern 500.
Briscoe saw Berry winning in Cup as a guarantee based on how Josh ran across certain races in 2024.
“Josh was gonna win a race. Like, there was never a question,” Briscoe said. “Even in the 4 car last year, there was weeks where he was up in the mix and it just never ended up playing out where he was able to win the race. Josh is a great race car driver, the 21 car’s a great car, too. I would say it surprised me how early in the season they were able to win. But I definitely felt like Josh was going to be one of those guys that feel like was kind of similar to me in the 14 where if you won a race, it’s kind of surprising but they are in the mix every now and then.”
In William Byron’s teenage years, he raced with Berry on the late-model scene before landing a full-time ride in the Truck Series and then raced for JR Motorsports in 2017 where he won the Xfinity Series championship.
Berry also raced with JRM from 2021-2023, collecting five wins before moving up to the Cup ranks.
“I reached out to him. Josh and I grew up together racing late models, so I felt the need to reach out,” Byron said. “I felt happy for him. That was cool. Good for them. Good for the Wood Brothers. They did a good job there towards the end of the race, and really the last couple weekends, they have been strong.”
Michael McDowell has raced in the Cup Series since 2008 and has seen all sorts of drivers come and go at the top level, as well as seen a lot of drivers reach the pinnacle of grabbing a checkered flag. With his first Cup win not coming until season 14 of his career in the 2021 Daytona 500, McDowell understood just how meaningful Berry’s win was for the sport.
“It’s always very interesting because as a competitor you’re like ‘oh man, should have been us, right?’ That’s how you feel. But when you get home and you watch the race, and you see it from a fan, it’s just really cool,” McDowell explained. “He’s worked really hard to be in this sport and he’s got a great opportunity with the Wood Brothers and with Team Penske to do something special, and he did. It’s cool to see it work out. It’s cool to see the hard work pays off and grinding it out. So I think it’s awesome. I think it’s really cool for the sport.”
Berry may very well return to Victory Lane sooner rather than later as he will start on the front row Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway alongside polesitter Alex Bowman.