June 6, 2020 is a day Josh Berry does not like to think about too often.
Many eyes in the motorsports industry were centered on North Carolina’s Ace Speedway that evening as the CARS Tour returned to action following a three-month break stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. A stout, 28-car field meant Berry, already a series champion, had to be efficient to find Victory Lane.
What transpired was not Berry’s proudest moment. He intentionally wrecked leader Bobby McCarty in retribution for an incident between the two earlier in the evening. Berry’s actions resulted in a disqualification and garnered him a one-race suspension from the CARS Tour.
The circumstances surrounding that event at Ace, now a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series track, proved to be life-altering for Berry.
A momentary lapse in judgement set off a chain of events that led to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon driving the iconic No. 21 for the Wood Brothers.
PHOTOS: Josh Berry in Late Models
“It was a really cool moment,” Berry said of his breakthrough. “You think back to being a kid and watching those guys become your heroes as they race. Finally getting an opportunity in the Cup Series was really special, let alone becoming a winner. It’s a totally different level, but it’s been a lot of fun, and I’m really excited.”
Prior to 2020, Berry was content being a full-time Late Model Stock Car driver for JR Motorsports. The combination gradually became a dominant force in the discipline during the 2010s, with Berry’s accomplishments including victories in crown jewel events like the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.
Although he occasionally ventured into the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JRM during that timeframe, a lack of funding kept Berry primarily confined to the Late Model Stock ranks. This only served to bolster his efficiency on short tracks, which made Berry a clear favorite to both fans and competitors in every race he entered.
McCarty was one of the few who could match Berry’s raw speed on a regular basis. The two came to blows on several occasions during an intense 2019 CARS Tour season that saw McCarty best Berry by one point in the final standings, resulting in plenty of tension heading into the offseason.
It took just two races and a prolonged break in 2020 for the rivalry between Berry and McCarty to reach a fever pitch. While battling for the lead at Ace with 45 laps remaining, contact with McCarty sent Berry into the outside retaining wall, resulting in significant damage that ended any chance of Berry bringing home a victory.
Frustrated with how McCarty raced him, Berry piloted his wounded car around Ace during the closing stages while patiently waiting for his long-time rival to catch him. That moment occurred inside of five laps to go, when Berry pulled in behind McCarty and proceeded to spin him on the frontstretch.
The corresponding actions from the CARS Tour were swift. Berry would not receive any points from Ace due to wrecking McCarty and was required to sit out the following event at Hickory Motor Speedway, leaving him with near-insurmountable deficit to overcome for a second series title.
Instead of lingering on the setback from Ace, Berry and JR Motorsports pivoted to a different pursuit, the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship.
What followed was an infallible performance from Berry, who amassed more than 20 victories across several different tracks in the southeast to secure the national title over Peyton Sellers.
A national championship was never Berry’s top priority during his first decade of Late Model Stock competition. Being able to contest the Weekly Series crown was a refreshing experience for a driver who was dually motivated to shake off the frustrations from Ace and assert control over his competition.
“We had raced a handful of times at Hickory prior to [Ace] just trying to race,” Berry said. “For the Late Model program to survive, we needed to be racing. We had accumulated some national points already, but it was a unique circumstance for us to accomplish something we never really knew if we’d have the opportunity to do again.
“We decided to go for it, and ultimately, it worked out.”
With a national championship being one of the last major achievements Berry checked off his impressive Late Model Stock resume, JR Motorsports elected to give him another opportunity at the Xfinity Series in 2021, when he would drive the team’s No. 8 in limited starts before eventually going full time.
The consistency that followed Berry in Late Model Stocks carried on to the national stage.
In three years with JR Motorsports’ Xfinity Series program, Berry tallied five victories and advanced to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in 2022. He also branched into the Cup Series as a substitute driver for teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Legacy Motor Club and Spire Motorsports.
With Berry’s reliability becoming more renowned to NASCAR team owners outside of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Stewart-Haas Racing signed him to a full-time deal in 2024 as Kevin Harvick’s replacement. One year later, Berry finds himself as a Cup Series winner with one of the sport’s most esteemed organizations in the Wood Brothers.
Berry’s triumph Sunday put him amongst an elite list of drivers who have won for the Wood Brothers such as David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and others. Knowing the history of the organization and its stellar list of former drivers, Berry felt he could flourish with the Wood Brothers from their opening race together.
“When I met with [the Wood Brothers] for the first time, it seemed like the right opportunity for me,” Berry said. “Obviously, their affiliation with Team Penske makes it an exciting opportunity, but being a part of the Wood Brothers, who I am as a racer and my years at the grassroots level makes it seem like I’m the right fit for their car and what they represent.”
Now that he has a spot in the Playoffs, Berry can focus on building cohesion with crew chief Miles Stanley and the rest of the Wood Brothers team over the rest of the regular season so everyone can be prepared to chase a title in the fall.
The idea of even chasing a Cup Series championship was far-fetched to Berry at the start of the decade. Had he not retaliated against McCarty at Ace several years ago, there’s a decent chance Berry would still be occupied building up short-track accomplishments today.
For all the initial negatives that came from that night, Berry considers himself grateful for the journey on which he has embarked. He always knew he was capable of being a Cup Series driver, but the support he received after what transpired at Ace refined that confidence and enabled him to reach one milestone after another.
“Those were interesting times, for sure,” Berry said. “A lot of my buddies still pester me about that and how it all transpired. Things happen for a reason, and looking back on that, I don’t know if I ever thought [wrecking McCarty would] lead to anything more than a suspension. It’s hard for me to say I’d do that again because it probably wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.
“It happened, we moved on from it, and it’s going to be a part of my history from now on.”
Everything that occurred at Ace in June of 2020 is in the past for Berry. His focus is on the future, where he intends to help the Wood Brothers re-establish themselves as one of the most consistent organizations in the Cup Series.