By Jerry Jordan, Editor
LAS VEGAS – Josh Berry played the role of spoiler on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, running down and passing Daniel Suarez to win the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and also end Christopher Bell’s three-race winning streak.
In winning the first Cup Series of his career, he also added the 101st victory to the record of the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team.
“Man, I just can’t believe it,” Berry said, after climbing from the racecar. “I’m just so proud of everybody on this team. The car was really solid all day. We just executed. We had a mishap on pit road and was able to rebound again, and I’m just super proud of these guys. I’m just really trying to soak this all in, honestly. I’m trying to take my time with everything and really enjoy this moment.”
A lot of things had to fall into place for Berry to get the win, including his overcoming an issue on pit road. Like several other drivers on the day, his team failed to get a wheel tight on one of his pit stops. He was forced to come back down pit road or risk losing a wheel, which would have resulted in suspensions and fines.
“I mean, it was obviously disappointing, but thankfully the wheel stayed on and we were able to make it to pit road before Miles was gonna get a vacation,” Berry said. “It just broke up the race. There was a lot of strategy going on and we were able to capitalize on it. We had a great battle with Joey and was hoping it would go green, but we got the caution and this pit crew rebounded and they dug deep at the end and had a great stop and we fought for the win.”
With 67 laps to go, Berry’s crew chief, Miles Stanley, made the call to leave Berry out on the track when others were pitting. His call was instrumental in securing the victory.
“At that point in the race we still don’t know what cautions are going to fall, right? I felt like the best strategy for us at that time was to put ourselves in the best track position that we could. That was by staying out,” Stanley said. “It all played out to where we didn’t have to run it dry or save fuel. But we were getting close there to where we were going to have to start deciding on how we were going to save or how we were going to make it. At that point in the race I felt like the best thing was to put ourselves as far forward as we could.
“Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day I guess you could say we’re in Vegas, so we gambled.”
Berry was also wasn’t afraid to gamble, explaining that he’d already told Stanley to do what he needed to in an effort to secure the win; even if it was risky.
“After we had to come down pit road and tighten up the wheel, I told him don’t be afraid to do something different here because that’s the only way we’re going to be able to get back up front,” Berry said. “That’s what he did. I mean, dude’s pretty good.”
As members of the Wood Brothers team explained, the win was earned by them, despite some people believing the No. 21 is just a repainted Penske car. Jon Wood, a co-owner of the team, was pretty vocal with his thoughts.
“When we suck, it’s our fault. But when we do good, we had nothing to do with it. It’s 100% Penske or something,” Wood said sarcastically. “I think that’s a frustrating part. These are our guys that are doing this. We sat in a room and debated who our next driver would be for 2025. It’s Josh Berry. Those are decisions that we made collectively. It’s our race team and our decision. It gets a little frustrating. I’m probably hypersensitive because I’m not just an admin that, like, laughs it off and doesn’t care because I got my paycheck for the week for doing social media. It hurts a little bit when I see that stuff. But then this happens and the results speak for themselves. I haven’t really had to be super crappy on social lately, defend ourselves. He’s just doing it. That’s the neat part.
“This one was legit. He dominated those last 20 laps.”
Berry’s win comes after just 53 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The Bell Tolls
Going for four wins in a row, Bell planned to start his day in 13th but the team had to make an unapproved adjustment before the race to change out the throttle body assembly. That put them starting at the rear of the field. He overcame the deficit and rallied to second, where it looked like he and his on-track nemesis Kyle Larson would replay their finish from here in 2024.
Then, Bell’s tire changer frantically indicated that he didn’t get the wheel tight. But rather than take a chance on making it around the track or losing the wheel, in a genius move, crew chief Adam Stevens quickly came over the radio saying, “Stop in somebody’s box. Tighten up the left sides, tighten up the left side, tighten up the left down there.”
Bell did as he was told and pulled into the No. 19 pit box, where Chase Briscoe’s crew tightened his wheel. He served a penalty for pitting outside the box but that was a much lighter sentence than had the wheel come off and ruined his day.
After the race, Stevens nonchalantly told Kickin’ the Tires, “Oh. That’s something we’ve talked about.”
Pressed on the call, Stevens explained that aside from a pitting outside the box penalty, what Bell did was not only okay but allowed by NASCAR, even if some fans bemoaned the move on social media.
“We’re allowed to do that and obviously,” Adams said. “It’s a situation that’s that’s come up in the past, and it’s been discussed with NASCAR. So it prevents, could prevent a wheel going across the racetrack, or a dangerous situation. So as soon as he jumped up with his head shaking, we jumped on it.”
A NASCAR representative confirmed the move only violated the pitting outside the box rule, which was served by Bell, and not any other more severe penalty. Bell happened to look for a teammate, but theoretically, a driver in a similar situation could pull into any pit box and get help if they were willing, according to another crew chief who asked about the move.
Bell ended his winning streak and his day in 12th place.
A Close Day For Suarez
Suarez was the runner-up and said his car was bottoming out in Turns 1 and 2, so much so that he almost crashed, and that was what allowed Berry to get past him for the lead.
“I am very proud of my Trackhouse team,” Suarez said after the race. “We did everything in our power to be there at the end. We just needed to be a little bit better in the turns. I was just having a little bit too much contact with the ground in one and two. That’s when he got to me.”
Ross Chastain, who finished fifth behind Ryan Preece and William Byron in third and fourth, respectively, said Suarez was lucky not to crash and did a great job saving the car.
“The 99 was the best Trackhouse car today,” Chastain said of Suarez maneuvering the corners. “He hit the ground really hard and I was amazed he didn’t wreck. The driver saved it.”