HAMPTON, Ga: Josh Berry had one of the fastest cars in the field during Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but a last-lap crash wiped out his chance at securing his first NASCAR Cup Series victory with Wood Brothers Racing.
Despite being shuffled out of the lead multiple times, Berry consistently used the speed of his No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang to slice through traffic and position himself at the front of the lead pack.
As the race entered its final 10 laps, a caution flag set up an overtime finish, putting Berry inside the top five and in prime position for a shot at the win on the green-white-checkered restart.
On the final lap, as the pack thundered past the start-finish line, Berry found himself three-wide exiting Turn 1 and Turn 2. Heading down the backstretch, Ross Chastain pushed Berry up the track in the middle lane, squeezing him into Denny Hamlin along the backstretch wall.
The two cars made contact, bouncing off each other before Berry lost control, slammed into the wall, and was then hit by Joey Logano, an innocent bystander in the wreck.
NASCAR threw the caution flag for the crash, freezing the field and ending the race. Christopher Bell, who led only the final lap, claimed his first win of the season. Berry, after leading the race seven times for a career-high 56 laps, won Stage 1 but finished 25th with a DNF (Did Not Finish).
“We had a really fast car,” Berry said after the race. “We saw yesterday that all of our (Fords) cars were fast. We were able to stay aggressive, stay on the offense, stay up front. I feel that I am in a situation now where I can succeed. We tried to make the most of it there, but we obviously didn’t get the finish that we deserved.”
Berry also reflected on the intensity of the competition in a race that showcased air temperatures in the 50s.
“It was just crazy,” Berry admitted. “Honestly, it was a lot of fun, but it was just crazy. A lot of aggressive moves racing there at the end. The No. 77 threw the No. 1 out of line and I kind of pushed him through the middle and then we just got squeezed together once into [Turn] one and then again off of [Turn] two.
“We all just ran out of room there. It’s just disappointing. I have to go back and look to see if there is something I could have done better. I mean, what’s the use of wrecking for eighth or whatever? I hate that we didn’t get the finish we deserved.”
His first full season behind the wheel of the iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang has been anything but easy.
A week earlier, his DAYTONA 500 ended early with a crash just past the halfway point, leaving him 37th in the finishing order.
Now, Berry heads to Circuit of the Americas (COTA) sitting 31st in the championship standings, looking to turn his season around. Last year at COTA, he started 31st and finished 35th while driving for the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. This time, he’ll aim to use the first road course race of the season as an opportunity to climb out of his deep points deficit.
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].
