Cover photo by Rachel Schuoler / Kickin’ the Tires
(Las Vegas, NV) March 6, 2021 — Another solid effort lands Josh Berry his fourth career top-10 finish in just 10 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after Saturday afternoon’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Getting these good finishes helps improve our starting position as the year goes on,” said Berry after finishing in the seventh position. “It just kept getting loose on the long run and I wish we could be more up front, but I’m glad we got a good result.”
Berry’s seventh place result is his second top-10 this year after his record-breaking 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship where he dominated with 24 victories in his 37-race schedule. His last top-10 finish dated back to 2016 at Iowa Speedway. Despite his late model experience with loose race cars, there’s not much overlap that Berry was able to rely on.
“Not much (similarity between loose late model cars and loose Xfinity cars),” Berry shared. “These cars — drivers always say this — behave so different. There’s not much to carry over, so I just learn from others and what they have shared with me.”
Slated for 12 starts this year, it’s a strong beginning of the part-time season for Berry. While he sits 16th in points after not entering the Daytona Road Course last month, he’s well ahead of most competitors who have already run the extra race.
“You know, I’m not really focused on the points. I hadn’t really noticed that. I guess that’s good that we’re ahead of others which helps our starting spots each weekend.
“I can’t thank Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) and Kelly (Earnhardt Miller) enough,” Berry continued. “FilterTime and Blake Koch have been on the car a lot this year. Taylor (Moyer) did a great job leading everybody and working on the car through the race.”
Earlier this week, JR Motorsports announced that Berry will be sponsored by iRacing, the simulator racing platform that he and boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. met over ten years ago that eventually led to the opportunity to drive. His No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro will be sporting the iRacing colors at Berry’s hometown track when NASCAR returns to Nashville Superspeedway. This sponsorship is also an expansion on Berry’s already strong relationship with the online racing simulator that backed him during his late model career.
“It’s great to have iRacing come on board and for us to be running this awesome scheme in Nashville,” said Berry. “They’ve been a great partner to work with over these last years and it means a lot to me to be able to continue this on to the NASCAR Xfinity Series level.”
After his 12 events, Berry will turn over the ride to teammate Sam Mayer. But his Xfinity performance isn’t done yet.
“We just want to get better.”