Wood Brothers driver outguns Daniel Suárez on late restart to claim Vegas victory
LAS VEGAS – Josh Berry drove the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford to the front in the closing laps and held on for a thrilling victory in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The race was decided on a restart with 19 laps to go, when Berry and Daniel Suárez went door-to-door into turn one. Berry edged ahead at the line on lap 252 and never looked back, winning by 1.358 seconds. It was Berry’s first career NASCAR Cup Series win – and notably the first time a driver has scored his maiden Cup victory at Las Vegas. The win also snapped Christopher Bell’s streak of three straight Cup triumphs.
“I love this track… it was our day. I just can’t believe it,” Berry said on Victory Lane, praising crew chief Miles Stanley and the entire Wood Brothers team.
Berry’s victory continued a recent Wood Brothers tradition: he became the fourth straight driver to score his first Cup win in the iconic No. 21 Ford. The win was the 101st all-time Cup victory for the Wood Brothers.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Berry, who had twice won in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series at Las Vegas; he now finally conquered the NextGen car here. Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet, ran second after a furious duel, cutting a hard-fought figure.
“A little disappointed,” Suárez admitted, noting that his team “did everything right” with strategy and pit stops but struggled in the short run. He conceded that excessive bumping in turns 1 and 2 nearly cost him the race. Suárez’s runner-up finish marked another strong result in Las Vegas and vaulted him into the top tier of the standings.
The 267-lap race was marked by non-stop action. The race saw 32 lead changes among 13 drivers and 9 cautions for 93 laps. Stage wins went to Austin Cindric (Stage 1) and Kyle Larson (Stage 2).
A Shift in Momentum
A seven-car pileup on the backstretch marked a major turning point in the race. The yellow flag was waved on lap 195 with Larson in the pits after leading 61 laps. His pitstop relegated him to 18th on the restart and ultimately to a ninth-place finish. Berry, in contrast, pitted just before the caution and restarted seventh on lap 201. He methodically worked the high groove and finally cracked Suárez’s hold on the lead on lap 234, only to surrender it briefly to Joey Logano and then retake it for good in the final run.
Late-race incidents kept everyone guessing. Noah Gragson slammed the wall on lap 243, bringing out the last caution and negating any fuel gambles. Under the flag, Suárez’s team swapped all four tires at light speed to get him out first, with Berry right behind. Berry took advantage of the open space to drive past Suárez.
Other contenders fell by the wayside in the melee: veteran Ryan Blaney and newcomer Shane van Gisbergen hit the wall in the late stages and finished laps down. Ryan Preece took third, followed by points leader William Byron in fourth.
Byron’s runner-up points finish was enough to reclaim the series lead, 29 points ahead of Bell in the standings. (Bell still has three wins on the young season, more than anyone.) For Berry, the victory vaults him into the playoff picture – an impressive feat for a part-time driver now enjoying a full season with the Wood Brothers.
Berry savored the moment, awed by the achievement. “I’m just really proud of everybody on this team…to be a Cup Series winner is really special,” he said. His hard-earned breakthrough after 53 career starts adds a new chapter to his career and Las Vegas lore – a story he’ll savor as the new champion of the Pennzoil 400.
Race Photos
All photos by Kevin C. Cox, Maximum Exposure for CORE360 Sports