For many, Josh Berry’s Las Vegas win seemingly came out of the blue. While his persistence had been evident, particularly in his commendable P3-place finish at Phoenix, the triumph still startled many Cup Series drivers, reminiscent of Shane van Gisbergen’s unexpected victory during his NASCAR Cup debut at the 2023 Chicago race. Echoing this sentiment, Denny Hamlin recently issued a cautionary note to the NASCAR community about Berry’s skills.
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In the most recent episode of his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin addressed the outcome involving Wood Brothers Racing and Berry’s notable performance.
He stated, “While we didn’t have any kind of wild card winners through the first four weeks, everything was kind of going status quo… all right these two guys between William Byron and Christopher Rell we expected them to be in the playoffs anyway.”
However, he candidly expressed, “I’m not sure any of the other teams budgeted the 21 car and Josh Berry to be in the playoffs taking a spot…” Nonetheless, Hamlin issued a clear caution to other teams and drivers regarding Berry’s potential, stating,
“But when I say taking a spot, like the way he’s running, he’s not just taking a spot. He’s someone that could go in there and win get into a couple of rounds deeper than just round of 16, the way he’s running.”
At Las Vegas, Berry overtook Daniel Suarez after a critical restart with nineteen laps remaining, asserting his dominance to secure the victory.
He currently occupies the 13th position in the championship standings, trailing leader Byron by 88 points. Yet, despite his position in the driver standings, Berry’s win has already guaranteed him a berth in the playoffs.
Hamlin is happy with Berry’s win
Although the Wood Brothers Racing driver’s win was quite unexpected, Hamlin expressed satisfaction that victories have not been monopolized by just a select few drivers.
He highlighted Bell as an example; Bell, who has secured three wins in the first five races, possesses the opportunity to amass crucial points throughout the season, potentially gaining a substantial competitive edge.
Currently, William Byron tops the championship standings with 207 points, courtesy of his victory at Daytona. Meanwhile, despite his three race wins, Bell occupies second place with 178 points — 29 points behind Byron — primarily due to fewer accumulated stage points and a DNF result at the Daytona 500. Hamlin, yet to secure a victory this season, currently holds the 12th position, 85 points adrift of Byron.
