Josh Berry maintaining playoff poise: ‘I’m proud of a lot of things we’ve done’

MADISON, Ill. -- As temperatures gradually dip as summer transitions to fall, Josh Berry, too, is keeping it cool. Such a calm mindset could prove beneficial. Following a last-place finish at Darlington Raceway last weekend to begin the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the 34-year-old Wood Brothers Racing pilot enters the second Round of 16 bout 19 points below the playoff cutline, last among 16 title hopefuls ahead of World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). RELATED: How playoff drivers are trending ahead of Gateway | At-track photos "Nothing much has changed, really," Berry said regarding the No. 21's playoff preparation. "I mean, we just got to go out and try to have two good weeks, really. That's really all there is to it. You can't worry about too much of everything else. You just need to go out and try to score as many points as you can, get a good finish. If we're able to do that this weekend, I think it'll give us a shot going into Bristol (Motor Speedway). And if we don't run like we want, we'll probably be must-win." After clinching a playoff berth outright via his Las Vegas Motor Speedway victory in March, Berry's 2025 postseason campaign started off on rocky footing, with the No. 21 Ford involved in an opening-lap wreck at the "Lady in Black." Though Berry limped his machine to the garage for repairs and returned to action afterward, the damage was done; Berry finished 38th, 128 laps down. Enter Gateway, where, despite finishing last in only one career Cup start (36th, 2024), Berry has analytics on his side. According to NASCAR Insights, Berry ranks fourth in Passer Rating and seventh in Speed Rating, Long-Run Speed and Restart Rating at comparable tracks to St. Louis in 2025 (Phoenix Raceway, Iowa Speedway, Richmond Raceway). Then, there's the alliance portion of the equation. With Wood Brothers Racing aligned with Team Penske -- an organization that has statistically performed well on flat race tracks and won two of the three St. Louis Cup races -- the optimism to replicate such success certainly provides more positivity and clarity toward a potential rebound. "Obviously, we have a tight alliance with those guys, and they've had a lot of success here, so that gives us a little extra confidence coming here, that we can go run well," Berry said. "Obviously, it's a little different tire, a little different time of the year compared to what they've had the last couple years. But you know, like I said, I still feel pretty good about all we've got, and we just gotta go out and execute." And execute Berry will have to do. According to Racing Insights, no driver has ever finished worse than 25th multiple times in the Round of 16 and advanced to the Round of 12; Berry, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman and Shane van Gisbergen all finished 29th or worse at Darlington. "If we don't finish well this weekend, then yeah, we're going to be must-win, right?" Berry said regarding the urgency to rebound at St. Louis. "So that's just how it's going to be. So, yeah, we just got to try to do our best to score as many points on Sunday as we can, and just give ourselves a shot at Bristol." Consistency and speed will be key for Berry and the No. 21 team ahead of Sunday's Gateway contest. After logging the 21st-fastest practice time during Saturday's practice session, Berry improved with a crisper qualifying result, logging the 12th-best time. Following Gateway, the long time short-track standout will have one final shot to reclaim upward footing, with the Round of 16 finale scheduled at Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). MORE: Cup Series standings | Cup Series schedule  In what is his first full-time Cup campaign under the Wood Brothers Racing banner, Berry believes there is much to be satisfied with in 2025. And while the Round of 16 started off on the wrong note, there's plenty of reason to think greener pastures could be looming. Keeping it cool could very well do that. "I'm proud of a lot of things we've done," Berry said. "I feel like we've shown a lot of potential, a lot of speed at times. [We] just need to clean things up. I mean, obviously, last weekend was super disappointing, but I don't think, as a driver, there was much different I could have done in that situation. The car was too low, we bottomed out and it wrecked. But it's been a lot of fun racing with these guys. Learned a lot and excited to continue."