While someone like Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron is well recognized for his ascent from iRacing and racing simulators to the real thing, NASCAR Cup Series regular and winner of the 2025 Pennzoil 500 Josh Berry also has a similar success story.
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Berry was once best known for being one of the drivers in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports. However, many fans do not seem to realize how the Wood Brothers Racing driver met the owner of the team, Dale Earnhardt Jr., on the simulator itself.
Both Berry and Earnhardt Jr. came across each other as the now-Cup Series winner raced in one of the leagues set up by the latter on the popular racing simulator iRacing. “We just developed a friendship on there,” said Berry of their union.
With his start in racing unknown to many, fans of the sport took to social media to discuss the reason behind the same. “My guess is that the public didn’t really see him as a potential star until he started winning late model races and that big win at Martinsville in the Xfinity series,” opined one fan. “After he’s won this (2025 Pennzoil 500) I’m sure Fox will do a piece on him highlighting that,” they added.
Wonder why @joshberry isn’t highlighted as a sim to reality success story as much as others like Byron. He’s perhaps the best example — met Dale on the sim, got a ride in Jr’s late model as a result, earned a Cup ride after Xfinity success, and now a Cup winner. Hell yeah Josh!
— Matt Bussa (@MattBussa) March 16, 2025
“He’s one of the few that has had to drive just about every car on his way to the top and prove he can do it level after level,” chimed in another follower, touching on how Berry has had to rise through the ranks in NASCAR, unlike someone who was identified as a top-level talent from a young age.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 16, 2025
“I never knew he actually came from iRacing like Byron did. I do wish they did highlight it on him coming from there, too. They always only mentioned of late models he came from, so that where I thought he came from, not from iRacing like Byron, Majeski, Caruth,” wrote yet another fan, perfectly summing up how Berry’s perception in the sport is, having made the majority of his name via Late Model racing.
With the 34-year-old Cup Series full-timer’s tumultuous journey into NASCAR’s top tier, one that involved him filling in for Chase Elliott as the Hendrick Motorsports star got injured, Berry’s win in Sin City might just be the catalyst that takes him to the next level in the Cup Series.
Along with logging in his first trip to victory lane, Berry also became the catalyst for the sport’s oldest running team and gave them their 101st victory, a feat not many drivers can boast of.
