Josh Berry Had Impressive Run At Daytona Prior To Leaders Crashing In Closing Laps

Josh Berry Had Impressive Run At Daytona Prior To Leaders Crashing In Closing Laps

by February 14, 2021 0 comments

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I champion, Josh Berry had an impressive run going at Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday night prior to being taken out by a late multi-car crash.

Last weekend, Berry battled Chad McCumbee for the win in the IceBreaker, at Florence Motor Speedway. The race came down to two late-race restarts within the final five laps, and Berry was able to finish second.

Fast forward a week later, and the Tennessee native is making his debut Daytona start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series while competing for JR Motorsports.

Berry is no stranger to the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He had seven series starts prior to Saturday. In fact, he even had two top-10 finishes, coming at Richmond Raceway (7th) in 2015 and Iowa Speedway (9th) in 2016. However, the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner 300 marked his first time competing on the high banks of Daytona.

On Saturday, Berry started the race in the 9th position after qualifying was rained out, and throughout the race, he slowly drafted his way towards the front in the No. 9 FilterTime Chevrolet.

In Stage 1, Berry cracked the top-10 thanks to pit strategy and making the right moves in the draft, but he later lost his drafting help and finished 14th. The JR Motorsports team continued to make adjustments, and Berry was able to finish 10th in Stage 2.

In the third and final stage, Berry was competing for the win while running in the 6th position, but he was involved in a 14-car accident on lap 106, just 14 laps from the finish. Berry gave Ty Dillon a huge push down the backstretch and with the momentum he was carrying, Dillon attempted to pull in front of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Daniel Hemric; however, the move didn’t work out. Dillon spun around and collected the field, including Berry. Unfortunately for Berry, the accident ended the night, and he was forced to finish 27th.

“That’s a tough end to a solid night,” Berry said. “We had a really fast FilterTime Chevrolet tonight and I feel like I learned a lot out there. All of these guys on this JR Motorsports crew gave it their all this weekend and it’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to get the solid result to back it up. But I can’t thank these guys enough for building some safe, fast racecars. We’ll be ready to go for the next one in Homestead. There’s more to come from this group.”

Berry was the highest finishing JR Motorsports driver on Saturday night, and he will be back racing for the team on Saturday, February 27 in the Contenders Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com

No Comments so far

Jump into a conversation

No Comments Yet!

You can be the one to start a conversation.

<