The Wood Brothers are back! After collecting their 100th win all-time last season at Daytona, Josh Berry wheeled the Wood Brothers’ 21 car to victory lane yesterday at Las Vegas.
Josh Berry has had a history of winning at Las Vegas in the Xfinity Series, and he reigns supreme at the 1.5 mile intermediate in the desert, claiming his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Harrison Burton was the driver of the Ford last year, where he got the Wood Brothers’ historic 100th win at Daytona.
After Burton got sent back down to compete in the Xfinity Series for the 2025 season, the Wood Brothers needed a new driver to fill their full time seat for the season.
Josh Berry, who was driving for Stewart-Haas Racing last season, was given the nod after SHR closed their doors.
In just race number five of the season, Berry is a Cup Series race winner. His 52 career Cup starts have been all over the place, but it seems he has found his fit at Ford and Wood Brothers.
Let’s break down how he was able to secure the trophy.
RECAP
Michael McDowell started on the pole, Spire Motorsports’ first time doing so at Las Vegas, with Joey Logano to his inside.
However, after battling side by side for majority of the first few laps, the race lead would fall into the hands of Joey Logano.
It wouldn’t last long for him either, as on lap 31, just under halfway through the stage, pit stop strategy becomes a factor and shuffles lots of positions.
Just three laps later, Chase Briscoe brings out the caution as he loses a left rear tire.
Half the field had not pitted yet, so they drop so under the yellow.
Those who were trapped a lap down due to the caution, took the wave around to get back on the lead lap, but started in the back half of the field.
The race would stay green until the end of stage 1. After battling hard with Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric claims the points.
Two of Bowman’s teammates (Elliott and Larson) finished inside the top 5 for the stage, with Bubba Wallace sandwiched in between them.
On lap 108, Shane Van Gisbergen spins on the backstretch.
Pit stop issues were a theme for many notable drivers yesterday, as there were 11 punishments for top drivers before the half-way point of the race.
These punishments included speeding penalties, loose wheels, pit violations, and more.
Chase Elliott has received two speeding penalties on pit road in his last four races. Prior to that stat, he had only sped one time in his previous 109 races.
The winner of the last three races, Christopher Bell, had a loose wheel issue on pit road as well and was issued a penalty, falling to the back of the field and losing laps.
The race goes back green with Kyle Larson leading.
Later, Todd Gilliland would slam the outside wall and take Ricky Stenhouse Jr. down with him.
Strategy comes into play in stage 2, as multiple drivers opt for the two-tire plan to get track position. Ross Chastain takes the race lead due to the decision.
However, he would not hold onto the race lead for long. As strong cars with fresh tires made their way to the front. Kyle Larson and William Byron fight for the stage win, dropping Chastain to third.
Larson would claim stage 2, making him the first repeat-stage winner of the season.
With under 100 laps to go, the racing would pick up, and stage 3 caused lots of chaos down the stretch.
On lap 188, Cody Ware spins and crashes his driver’s side door into the wall in turns 3 and 4.
As they restart, Stenhouse Jr. spins to the inside. Meanwhile on the track, contact occurs between Noah Gragson, Ryan Blaney, and Bubba Wallace.
Blaney was visibly frustrated as he threw his hands up… while he was still spinning.
More strategy as some pit for just fuel, some take tires, and some stay out.
On lap 237, Joey Logano takes the lead from Josh Berry, who used strategy to get track position.
Six laps later, Noah Gragson has more trouble as he has a right front tire go down, causing him to hit the wall and bring out the caution.
In a 16-lap sprint to the end, Josh Berry and Daniel Suarez battle for the race lead.
Ross Chastain, who was running third, was trying to push his teammate Suarez to the lead, but Berry’s strength helped him around the 99.
The top 5 would interchange for the remaining laps, but Josh Berry was able to pull away and take the checkered flag for the first time in his Cup Series career.
It was a Las Vegas record, as there were 32 lead changes all day.
In the end, Berry had the only lead change that mattered.
Berry also became the first driver to claim their inaugural Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Suarez would finish second, 1.35 second behind Berry.
Ryan Preece finished third, and William Byron gets around Chastain on the last lap to finish 4th. Chastain 5th.
FLAGS OF THE WEEK
It took a long time for me to decide between the different storylines to make my green flag of the week. Ultimately, I had to decide that my green flag is the “Next Gen Cup Series car on intermediate tracks.” Some of the best races of the Next Gen era has come from intermediate tracks such as Kansas, Charlotte, and just like yesterday, Las Vegas. The package they use is perfect for the mile-and-a-halves. If you want to disagree with me, all I have to say is look at the statistics. A Las Vegas record-setting 32 lead changes is hard to beat. It’s also hard not to be on the edge of your seat when there is side-by-side racing throughout the entire pack, not just the lead.
My yellow flag of the week is an interesting statistic that is fun to look at. William Byron won the Daytona 500. Christopher Bell won races two through four. Josh Berry won at Las Vegas. All five races in 2025 have been won by drivers whose last name starts with ‘B’. So, who’s next? Is it Alex Bowman? Is it Chris Buescher? Or is a driver who has a different letter to start their last name? We’ll find out next week in Miami.
My red flag is the loose wheel issues. We saw a lot of them last week. We’ve seen a few other times this year at COTA and other tracks. We understand time is of the essence on pit road, and you want to get in and out as quickly as possible, but it hurts your day worse overall if you lose a wheel and get trapped a couple laps down. How are these teams going to limit these issues? Practice for these crews should be fun this week.
THE NEXT RACE
The NASCAR Cup Series is back in the south as they make the trip down to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 on Sunday, March 23rd at 3:00 PM EST.
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