Berry, Wood Brothers make history in Phoenix

Today at 09:31 AM

Josh Berry and Wood Brothers Racing made their presence known on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, accomplishing a first in the process.

Berry drove the No. 21 Ford to a fourth-place finish after starting fourth in the Shriners Children's 500. It is the first time in nearly four years (since May of 2021 at Kansas Speedway with Matt DiBenedetto) that the team has qualified and finished in the top five. But it goes even further: it is the first time in Wood Brothers Racing history that they have finished in the top five at Phoenix Raceway.

"I felt like myself again," Berry said. "It is amazing what you can do when the car is handling like that. It was really solid and staying underneath me. I am super proud of these guys."

In the four short weeks that Berry and the team have worked together under the guidance of crew chief Miles Stanley, Phoenix Raceway was the best they have looked. It was also their best result after finishing 25th or worse in the first three races.

On Saturday, Berry went from being 34th fastest in practice to qualifying in the top half of the leaderboard. Sunday, Berry finished sixth in the first stage and 10th in the second stage, earning an average running position of 9.1 in the 312-lap race.

"I am proud of everyone on this (No.) 21 team and thank you to Eero for coming on board," Berry said. "Our car was really solid. It wasn't mistake-free. We had an issue on pit road with the left rear, but we got backed up and got the wheel tight. We had some really good restarts. We had one toward the end that didn't go our way, but pretty much every one of them we were able to move forward and fight and claw.

"It is a credit to everyone on the 21 team and Ford and Wood Brothers Racing and Team Penske. It was a lot of fun."

Because of the issue on the left rear, Berry lost his track position and was running outside the top 10 when a seven-car crash occurred off Turn 2 on lap 99. It was the same lap as a restart, and Berry was making his way around the outside of traffic when the crash occurred. The melee suddenly put a cloud of smoke in front of Berry and sent debris flying at his windshield.

Berry, however, was not collected in the incident. Immediately thereafter, he keyed the radio and told his team, "Two things. I made it, and that was a (expletive) hell of a restart."

It was the only big hiccup of the afternoon. The finish and momentum were much needed for Berry and the organization, who jumped 12 positions in the point standings from 33rd to 21st.

"I am just honestly so excited," Berry said. "This racetrack was pretty tough for me last year, and these guys have great cars, without a doubt here. That was proven again today, and we executed pretty solidly and was able to get a good finish, which is really good."