LAS VEGAS — It’s time to take the Wood Brothers seriously.
Josh Berry’s victory in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway wasn’t a bolt from the blue like Trevor Bayne’s win in the 2011 Daytona 500.
It wasn’t a parting shot like Harrison Burton’s superspeedway victory in last summer’s Daytona race.
And it wasn’t the occasional bone thrown by the racing gods to NASCAR’s most venerable organization during its 75th-anniversary celebration.
Those who were paying attention could see Berry’s victory coming. In his second start for the Wood Brothers on Feb. 23, Berry led 56 laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway—second only to Joey Logano’s 83—before an overtime wreck on Lap 265 swept away his chance at a win.
Two weeks later at Phoenix Raceway, in the NASCAR Cup Series’ first foray of the season onto a traditional oval, Berry finished fourth. That was no accident. NASCAR’s loop data pegged him with an average running position of 9.10, sixth best among 37 starters.
In the race at Las Vegas, Berry’s average running position was 7.88, behind only William Byron (7.51) and Kyle Larson (7.57). Berry achieved that number despite an unplanned trip down pit road to secure a loose wheel—a problem that was epidemic throughout the field on Sunday.
And when a spate of cautions in the final stage left Larson, Byron and Ross Chastain on the wrong side of a pit stop cycle and took them out of the mix for the win, Berry was left to battle with Daniel Suarez and took full advantage of the opportunity.
The victory was the 101st for Wood Brothers Racing but only the fifth in the 21st century. For those who favor numerology, Las Vegas is an appropriate place for the No. 21 Ford to occupy Victory Lane. The number “21,” of course, represents a winning hand in Sin City’s most prolific card game.
For those who favor nicknames, “Blackjack” Josh Berry might be worth considering, if it wouldn’t infringe on the moniker of “Blackjack” Brian Brown, who drove the No. 21 winged sprint car in Saturday’s High Limit Racing season opener a stone’s throw away from the 1.5-mile paved speedway at LVMS.
Where the Wood Brothers are concerned, however, a far more significant number is 1981, the last year the organization won more than one race in a single season, courtesy of the late Neil Bonnett, who claimed three victories that year.
Given Berry’s promising start with the team—after his struggles last year with moribund Stewart-Haas Racing — there’s a sense that the pieces are in place to bring that 44-year streak to an end.
