Josh Berry can now call himself a NASCAR Cup Series winner.
The 34-year-old from Hendersonville, Tennessee, passed Daniel Suarez for the lead with 15 laps remaining and pulled away for his maiden win on stock car racing’s grandest stage, taking the Pennzoil 400 checkered flag for Wood Brothers Racing on Sunday. Berry, who qualified seventh in his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, led the most important of the race’s 267 laps to become the first driver to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Oh man, I don’t even know what to think. It’s just awesome,” said Berry, who won in his 53rd career NCS start. “I love this track. Las Vegas has been so good to me, and I’ve had so many great moments here. I’ve struggled in the Next Gen car here, but [crew chief] Miles [Stanley], this whole No. 21 team and everybody at Wood Brothers Racing gave me a great car today.
“We just battled and battled and battled, and it was just our day. It was such a battle with Daniel [Suarez] there at the end, and beating and banging on this mile-and-a-half was crazy. Whoever was going to get out front was going to win, and we were able to get it from him.”
The win came in just Berry’s fifth race with Wood Brothers Racing.
“It’s just incredible, and they’ve been so good to me,” Berry said. “It’s been a great relationship, and I’d like to thank everyone at Wood Brothers Racing and Team Penske as well. They’ve welcomed me with open arms and tried to help me accelerate this learning process as much as they can.
“I really can’t say enough for Miles Stanley – he is so good at what he’s doing, we’ve got a great thing going on together and he really believes in me.”
Suarez took the race lead on Lap 246, but could not hold off the charging Berry five laps later and settled for second, 1.358 seconds off the pace.
“I’m definitely a little disappointed, but first of all, congratulations to the 21 team and Josh,” said Suarez, who finished third at LVMS in October. “They did a great job, have been fast lately and have been in contention, so congratulations to them. We did everything right, and the team did an amazing job on the strategy and pit stops.
“We did everything right, and our car was fast. We just struggled a little bit in the short runs, and there was a little too much contact. I think that’s why we lost the race, too much contact – I mean, I almost wrecked in [turns] 1 and 2 – but overall, I’m very, very proud of everyone.”
Christopher Bell was looking to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races. He started from the rear of the field after his team was forced to swap out his No. 20 Toyota’s throttle body before the green flag. He then fought his way up to second 110 laps into the race, but was penalized for pitting outside his box when a loose lug nut had to be addressed and ultimately finished 12th as the top Toyota.
Joey Logano, last year’s Pennzoil 400 champion, led through Lap 245, but dropped double-digit positions and surrendered the lead to Suarez after a lengthy pit stop. He led 40 laps on the day and went on to finish 15th.
Ryan Preece crossed the line third to match his career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish.
“Going into the season, our motto was ‘Live by the fire, and die by the fire, take chances, be aggressive and be on the offense,’” said Preece, whose previous best finish in Las Vegas was 15th in 2021. “I’m happy for Josh. I really liked him when we were teammates.”
Two-time Daytona 500 Champion William Byron finished fourth, while Ross Chastain – a past NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at LVMS – crossed the line fifth.
Hometown favorite Kyle Busch lost his left rear tire and wheel following a yellow-flag pit stop at Lap 113, hitting the wall on the backstretch in the process. His team was able to get the No. 8 BetMGM Chevrolet back on track, but he was relegated to 33rd place.
Austin Cindric, who qualified third in his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, won Stage 1 ahead of Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott and led 47 laps. Defending Pennzoil 400 Champion Kyle Larson won Stage 2 and led a race-high 61 laps before settling for a ninth-place finish, while pole sitter Michael McDowell led five laps and finished 16th.
The action-packed race had 13 different leaders, a record 32 lead changes and nine cautions for 53 laps. Drivers and teams battled tire issues, juggled fuel strategy decisions and near-misses in the three-hour and 13-minute race.
