Stewart-Haas Racing driver Josh Berry suffered a violent crash at Daytona International Speedway this Saturday. He was in good standing to get a top finish but a bump from Austin Cindric toppled his #4 Ford Mustang and wrecked it into the backstretch apron with two laps to go during the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400. The driver was later spotted waving to fans after being checked and released from the infield care center.
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Take a look at what happened on the backstretch at @DAYTONA. @joshberry exited the vehicle and gave a thumbs up to the crowd. pic.twitter.com/C67wMUvXvD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 25, 2024
Seemingly okay after the chaos, he told the press, “Aside from the car flipping over it wasn’t really that bad of a deal … It was just a weird angle, right? the car crushed pretty good because it was actually upside down. I mean, the car did its job. I feel okay. It probably looked worse than it felt. Just disappointed because I really thought we could’ve won that thing.”
Berry won Stage 1 and led nine laps before the dramatic incident played out. He is yet to secure his maiden Cup Series victory in the sport. The 400-mile-long event ended with Wood Brothers Racing driver Harrison Burton taking the checkered flag in P1. Rather poetically, it is Burton that Berry will replace at the historic racing outfit in 2025. The blow-over crash has caused serious reasons for concern now being the second such incident in as many weeks.
Josh Berry said the hit into the wall probably looked harder than it felt. He is OK after that wild ride. pic.twitter.com/LU90Rw35Th
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 25, 2024
Last weekend, the #7 Chevrolet driven by Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie toppled and slid down the Michigan track. NASCAR had mandated the installation of air deflectors on the right side of cars for the Daytona race following the same, but the additions proved somewhat futile in keeping Berry’s Mustang on the ground.
Berry left in disbelief over misfortunes of his team
Despite the intensity of the wreck, it wasn’t nearly as violent as the one that Berry’s teammate Ryan Preece suffered at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in 2023. Berry noted the same and said that the track had made noticeable improvements to prevent an event of such magnitude.
“As bad as it looked, they made a big improvement over what Ryan had last year. I just can’t believe we flipped two of our Stewart-Haas cars in a row like that, but it was just a great job by Rodney and this whole 4 team.”
Had he not gone through the ordeal, Berry could have been in contention to win the second-last race of the regular season. This would have secured him a spot in the playoffs, which evidently is the goal every driver outside the cutoff is trying to achieve.
However, he will now be looking forward to the final race at Darlington to finish the stretch on a high note, and possibly earn a chance to compete towards the title during the upcoming postseason.
