Mooresville North Carolina’s JR Motorsports (JRM) fielded entries for two champions during Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series season finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
While Chase Elliott officially earned his first Nationwide driver’s championship last weekend at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway, JRM’s Late Model driver earned his first championship a few weeks ago in Hickory, North Carolina.
Saturday night, the two champs competed on the same turf. While Elliott finished 17th in the Ford EcoBoost 300, Berry took the checkered flag 25th.
“We had a really good car,” said Berry of his Homestead run. “The longer we went, the better I got, the more aggressive I got on the restarts.”
Had you not watched the season finale for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, you might not of know that Berry, driving the No. 5 RAGU Chevrolet Camaro was battling for his first career top-10 finish in just his second career start.
Earlier this summer, Berry earned an impressive 12th place finish at the short track of Iowa Speedway. Berry’s native tongue is short track racing, so while few were surprised with his success in his debut, the performance from the 23-year old Saturday night from the 1.5-mile speedway was definitely noteworthy.
Never turning a lap at an intermediate track before the start of Friday’s practice session at Homestead-Miami, the Henderson, Tennessee native spent the two practice sessions learning the feeling of a bigger track.
While the team made massive strides during practice, the JR Motorsports team led by veteran crew chief Ernie Cope refused to let light contact with the wall hamper their weekend or spirit.
In knockout qualifying on Saturday afternoon, Berry stepped up to the plate.
During the final seconds of round two, Berry hammered out a lap that rose him from outside the top-12 to 11th fastest overall, guaranteeing him into the final round of qualifying and a shot at earning JR Motorsports another pole in 2014.
Berry, an iRacing mogul, had to settle for 12th.
Still, the accomplishment for his intermediate debut gave the JRM team a boost heading into the 200-lap race.
Berry settled in at his own pace. Early on, he hovered safely inside the top-15, before dropping to 17th by the halfway point. Continual adjustments from Cope allowed Berry to steadily make his climb (back) through the field.
By Lap 150, Berry had muscled his way to 13th and 10 laps later, the No. 5 RAGU Chevrolet Camaro entered the top-10 for the first time.
Just 40 laps later though, Berry’s day took a dramatic turn as on the next-to-last restart of the night, the car broke loose underneath the No. 16 of Ryan Reed.
Berry escaped the scene without any damage to the car, but the rookie driver took a glancing blow in track position, dropping him to 28th after the spin.
With just two laps to recover, Berry gained three spots, claiming 25th.
“I knew I had to get aggressive there those last couple laps, otherwise I was going to get passed and I just went underneath the 16 going into 3 and he crowded me down and I just got loose. It was a mistake on my part. Other than that, it was a really good night for I feel like.”
Despite the finish, Berry’s intake of experience was priceless.
“There was a point about halfway, maybe a little past halfway on one of those restarts I was able to get by a lot of people and it was like at that point, I figured it out. I learned a lot tonight (Saturday) and hope I get to do it again.”
With a clouded future in what will become the XFINITY Series, and unsure of his next race, Berry remained extremely appreciative to car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., JRM and partner Ragu for the Homestead opportunity.
“Very appreciative,” sounded Berry, who will compete in the Myrtle Beach 400 Late Model race next weekend. “Ragu stepping up and helping us this weekend was awesome and all of these guys for believing in me. I hate that happened at the end, but I’m here to prove that I can drive and that’s what I was trying to do.”
“Trying to get these guys a top-10 finish like they deserve and we were that close.”
Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who celebrated his company’s first NASCAR championship with Elliott was still proud of his protégé’s performance, despite the outcome.
“He has to understand that every race isn’t going to go the way you want to,” said Earnhardt Jr. “He learned a lot tonight. He was racing at a mile and a half for the first time ever. Everything he did tonight was the first time ever, that includes going in there and spinning himself out on the inside of that guy on that green-white-checkered at the end.
“That’s something you have to learn as a rookie going through those issues. He probably feels real bad about it tonight (Saturday), but after a week or so of thinking about it, I’m sure he’ll be ready to go again – try his next opportunity.”
As for that next opportunity, not even Earnhardt Jr. knows when that will be.
“I don’t. I wish I did,” Earnhardt Jr. uttered in a soft-spoken tone.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
