Some may call it luck, or redemption, or a miracle. Or it could just be that so far in 2025, the Wood Brothers have been that damn good. And that Josh Berry could have been the final piece NASCAR’s oldest team needed.
Berry took the lead with 13 to go Sunday in a chaotic, chaos-filled race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and cruised to victory, his first NASCAR Cup Series career win in his 53rd start.
It was a race that saw a record number of lead changes—32 of them—and nine cautions, but in the end, it was Berry emerging from all the madness, parking the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford right on the start-finish line like he owned the joint.
“Oh, man, I don’t even know what to think,” Berry said. “Just awesome. I love this track. Las Vegas has been so good to me. So many great moments here.”
For much of the day, it was looking like Kyle Larson’s show. Hendrick Motorsports had won the last four consecutive spring races at Vegas—two of those with Larson—and he led the most laps on Sunday, 61. He even won Stage 2, a telltale sign of success for him at this track.
But just when it looked like the season’s first mile-and-a-half track would serve up a good old-fashioned fuel-mileage finish, NASCAR had other ideas. Larson was cruising near the 200-lap mark when Cody Ware spun on Lap 187, sending the field to pit road. Then came the restart on Lap 194, and the field, perhaps inspired by the Vegas Strip, decided to go full slot-machine mode.
Just behind the top five, three-wide madness erupted out of Turn 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got spun and slid toward the inside wall. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney, sandwiched by Christopher Bell, got turned up into Erik Jones after clipping the nose of Noah Gragson’s Ford. The result? A mangled Blaney Ford limping to the garage, the end of what had been a strong day clawing back into contention.
That caution shuffled the deck. The leaders pitted—including Larson. Most took only fuel, but Ross Chastain’s crew, having gone with just two tires on a prior stop, went for four fresh ones and a full tank. Meanwhile, the gamblers—those further back—stayed out. Tyler Reddick inherited the lead with Larson buried back in 18th.
But the fuel numbers weren’t adding up for those up front. Reddick bailed for pit road on Lap 199, handing the lead to Daniel Suarez, who was playing poker with an empty tank. Then came salvation for Suarez—Noah Gragson lost a tire and hit the wall on Lap 244 just as Joey Logano, who had spent most of the day playing catch-up, took the lead.
The final pit stops saw Suarez’s Trackhouse crew deliver a lightning-fast four-tire stop with just enough fuel, vaulting him out in front. Berry, meanwhile, lined up second. Larson? Seventh. Logano’s crew fumbled, dropping him to 20th.
Christopher Bell’s Streak Comes to an End in Bad Day for JGR
The last restart came with 19 laps to go. Suarez and Berry went at it, swapping the lead for several laps before Berry muscled past with 15 to go. From there, he didn’t look back, pulling away to win by 1.3 seconds.
“Yeah, a little disappointed,” Suarez said. “But first of all, congratulations to the 21 team and Josh. They did a great job. They’ve been fast lately. They’ve been in contention. So congratulations to them.
“We did everything right, you know? The team did an amazing job on the strategy, pit stops. We did everything right. Our car was fast. We just struggle a little bit in the short run. I mention to my crew chief just a little bit ago, before the last run, I told him, ‘Hey, we want to be up front, I need a little bit better short run. I am having too much contact in one and two.’”
Behind Suarez, Ryan Preece finished third, William Byron fourth, and Ross Chastain fifth.
Loose wheels turned out to be the Achilles’ heel for several drivers. Chase Briscoe lost one on Lap 32, getting slapped with a two-lap penalty. Bell’s crew had a near-miss, forcing him to stop in another pit stall to get his left front tightened—dodging a major penalty but still getting sent to the rear. Alex Bowman, feeling a vibration worse than a cheap motel bed, ducked to pit road on Lap 92. And then Kyle Busch’s day went to hell—losing a wheel on the restart for Stage 2, watching it roll across the backstretch as his Chevy limped to the garage with a busted brake line.
Even Berry wasn’t immune to the loose wheel gremlin. He was forced to re-pit for a loose wheel, fortunately it was early in the race, and obviously he was able to stage quite the rally.
“Thankfully the wheel stayed on and we were able to make it to pit road before Miles (crew chief Miles Stanley) was gonna get a vacation,” Berry said referring to the penalty of a crew chief suspension. “It just broke up the race. There was a lot of strategy going on and we were able to capitalize on it. We had a great battle with Joey and was hoping it would go green, but we got the caution and this pit crew rebounded and they dug deep at the end and had a great stop and we fought for the win.”
Austin Cindric, who won Stage 1, ended up sixth, with Bowman seventh and AJ Allmendinger eighth. Larson had to settle for ninth, just ahead of Chase Elliott.
And Michael McDowell? Well, the curse of the Vegas pole sitter continued—he finished 16th, keeping alive the stat that no driver has ever won a Cup race from the pole at Las Vegas.
Thanks to Harrison Burton’s Daytona win last August, the Wood Brothers have now won in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Kyle Petty pulled it off in 1986-87. And with Berry clicking with the team, this may not be the last trip to Victory Lane for the No. 21.
“I’m just really proud of everybody on this team,” Berry said. “This is a great group. They build great race cars and it’s just been a privilege to drive for them. I’m just so really thankful to be here. There are so many people I could thank for this moment, but to be a Cup Series winner is really special.”
So, was it luck? Fate? Or just the inevitable rise of a team that was long overdue? One thing’s for sure—the Wood Brothers are back. And right now, they’re just that damn good.
Photos: NASCAR at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, March 16, 2025
RACE RESULTS
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.