On Sunday afternoon, Josh Berry grabs his first NASCAR Cup Collection victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway within the Pennzoil 400.
LAS VEGAS—Successful an intense battle in opposition to Daniel Suárez after a restart with 19 laps left, Josh Berry pulled away to a convincing victory in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 introduced by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Josh Berry First Victory
The win was Berry’s first within the NASCAR Cup Collection at a monitor the place he gained twice in a NASCAR Xfinity Collection automotive. Berry is the fourth straight Wooden Brothers Racing driver to select up his first Cup win within the No. 21 Ford.
“Oh, man, I don’t even know what to suppose,” Berry mentioned after climbing from his automotive on the frontstretch. “Simply superior. I like this monitor. Las Vegas has been so good to me. So many nice moments right here.
“Simply struggled within the Subsequent Gen automotive right here. However (crew chief) Miles (Stanley) and this entire 21 crew, all people at Wooden Brothers Racing, they gave me an ideal automotive as we speak. Simply battled and battled and battled. Man, it was our day. I simply can’t imagine it.
“Such a battle with Daniel there on the finish, beating and banging on a mile-and-a-half—loopy! Whoever was going to get out entrance was most likely going to win. We have been in a position to get in entrance.”
Josh Berry versus Daniel Suarez
Berry and Suárez restarted side-by-side on lap 249 of 267. Suárez didn’t give up the lead till lap 252, when Berry nosed forward initially/end line. Lap 253 was practically a lifeless head with Berry forward by inches, however the No. 21 Mustang cleared Suárez’s No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet by way of the tri-oval on lap 254.
“We did the whole lot proper, you understand?” Suárez mentioned “The crew did an incredible job on the technique, pit stops. We did the whole lot proper. Our automotive was quick. We simply struggled a bit bit within the quick run.
“I discussed to my crew chief just a bit bit in the past, earlier than the final run, I instructed him, ‘Hey, we need to be up entrance, I want a bit bit higher quick run. I’m having an excessive amount of contact (with the bumps within the racing floor) in (turns) 1 and a couple of.
“Sadly, I really feel like that’s why we misplaced the race, just a bit bit an excessive amount of contact. I imply, I virtually wrecked in 1 and a couple of.”
After clearing Suárez, Berry widened the hole in clear air and crossed the end line 1.358 seconds forward of the runner-up, incomes a victory that additionally ended Christopher Bell’s three-race Cup successful streak.
The Remainder of the Story
Berry acquired his probability when a lap 195 warning for a seven-car wreck on the backstretch interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops and wrested management of the race from Stage 2 winner Kyle Larson, who had led 61 laps earlier than pitting on lap 197.
With the sector flipped, Larson restarted 18th and will solely work his manner again to ninth earlier than the race ended.
Berry, alternatively, restarted seventh on lap 201, labored the highest of the monitor masterfully, and snatched the lead from Suárez for the primary time on lap 234 earlier than surrendering it to Cup champion Joey Logano two laps later.
Noah Gragson’s laborious contact with the second flip wall on lap 243 prompted the ninth and remaining warning of the race and took gas consumption out of the equation. Suárez regained the lead with a blistering four-tire cease, with Berry second off pit street, as Logano misplaced 19 positions throughout a fraught pit cease.
However it didn’t take Berry lengthy to set sail towards the one hundred and first victory for the Wooden Brothers, who acquired No. 100 final 12 months by the hands of Harrison Burton.
Ryan Preece ran third on Sunday, adopted by collection chief William Byron, who paced a gaggle of 4 Hendrick Motorsports drivers within the prime ten. Tire technique helped Ross Chastain safe fifth place.
Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Larson, and Chase Elliott accomplished the highest ten on a day when pit street resembled a comedy of errors. Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch jettisoned unfastened wheels onto the monitor, although Briscoe rebounded from 4 laps down to complete seventeenth.
In a race that featured 32 lead modifications amongst 13 drivers, Austin Cindric was second to Larson in laps led with 47, adopted by Logano with 40, Tyler Reddick with 34, Bubba Wallace with 20, and Berry with 18.
What About Christopher Bell?
For sensible functions, Christopher Bell’s bid for a fourth straight Cup Collection victory got here to an finish throughout pit stops beneath warning for Shane van Gisbergen’s spin off the second activate lap 107.
By then, Bell, who began from the rear due to an unapproved throttle physique change, had superior to second within the working order, however his entrance tire changer didn’t safe the left-front wheel earlier than Bell left his stall, situated close to the doorway to pit street.
After frantic radio communication, Bell pulled into the pit of teammate Chase Briscoe, the place the entrance tire changer on the No. 19 crew tightened the unfastened lug.
Bell dropped to the rear of the sector beneath penalty for receiving service outdoors his pit field and will make no progress in soiled air after two subsequent restarts. His No. 20 Toyota was working twenty ninth when the No. 34 Ford of Todd Gilliland bounced off the fourth flip wall on lap 147 to trigger the fifth warning of the afternoon.
Complaining of a lack of rear grip, Bell completed Stage 2 in twenty seventh place, his probabilities for a uncommon four-race successful streak all however gone.
Bell subsequently ran as excessive as sixth after a two-tire cease on lap 189 to achieve monitor place, however he misplaced spots when the sector flipped for the lap 201 restart and will solely get better to twelfth on the end.
“It was a grind as we speak for certain,” Bell mentioned. “I don’t actually understand how I really feel but, however we actually didn’t do what we did the final couple of weeks, and that was simply have a pleasant clear race.
“I believe the Interstate Camry was positively able to competing for the win after we have been at our greatest, however simply going to the again and to the entrance and to the again and to the entrance, we simply didn’t get a deal with on the steadiness, as a result of it modifications a lot from being again there. I felt like we have been in place in Stage 2 to contend for an additional win, however it acquired away from us.”
William Byron holds a 29-point benefit over the second-place driver, Christopher Bell. Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman full the highest 5 drivers. 51 factors separate Alex Bowman from the chief. Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, and Ross Chasstain full the highest ten drivers.
Subsequent Up
The NASCAR Cup Collection will race at Homestead Miami Speedway on Sunday, March twenty third. The Straight Discuss Wi-fi 400 begins at 3 p.m. and protection is on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Tyler Reddick is the defending winner at Homestead Miami.
