Berry takes his first NASCAR Cup Series victory

Josh Berry secured his first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series this Sunday at the Pennzoil 400 held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, after overtaking Daniel Suárez in a tight battle during the final laps of the race.

The win holds special significance for Berry, who had previously won twice at this same track while competing in the Xfinity Series. Additionally, he becomes the fourth consecutive driver from the Wood Brothers Racing team to achieve their first victory in the premier series behind the wheel of the Ford #21.

"I don't even know what to think," expressed Berry after stepping out of his car on the main straight. "I love this track. Las Vegas has been really good to me. So many great moments here."

A decisive battle at the end

The race's outcome was decided after a restart with 19 laps to go. Berry and Suárez restarted side by side on lap 249 of 267, with the Mexican defending the lead until lap 252, when Berry managed to take the lead for the first time.

Lap 253 was practically a tie with Berry ahead by mere centimeters, but the Ford Mustang #21 eventually pulled away from the Chevrolet #99 of Trackhouse Racing starting on lap 254.

"We did everything right," commented Suárez after finishing second. "The team did an incredible job with the strategy and pit stops. Our car was fast, we just had issues in the short runs."

The Mexican driver added: "I mentioned to my crew chief just before the final stint that I needed to improve in short runs. I was having too much contact with the bumps in turns 1 and 2. Unfortunately, I think that's why we lost the race."

After passing Suárez, Berry extended his lead in clean air and crossed the finish line 1.358 seconds ahead of his rival, ending Christopher Bell's streak of three consecutive wins.

A change of fortune mid-race

Berry's opportunity came when a caution on lap 195, caused by a multi-car accident on the backstretch, interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops and altered the race control that Kyle Larson, the winner of the second stage, had maintained.

With the running order reshuffled, Larson had to restart in 18th place and could only advance to ninth by the end. Berry, on the other hand, restarted seventh on lap 201, masterfully worked the high line of the track, and took the lead from Suárez for the first time on lap 234.

Berry joins Wood Brothers history

With this victory, Berry delivers the 101st win for Wood Brothers Racing, which reached its 100th win last year with Harrison Burton.

Ryan Preece completed the podium, followed by championship leader William Byron, who led a group of four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the top ten. Ross Chastain finished fifth thanks to a different tire strategy.

Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Larson, and Chase Elliott rounded out the top ten in a race that featured 32 lead changes among 13 different drivers.

Bell's streak comes to an end

Christopher Bell's aspiration to secure a fourth consecutive win in the NASCAR Cup practically ended during the caution-flag pit stops due to Shane van Gisbergen's spin on lap 107.

By then, Bell, who started from the rear due to an unauthorized throttle body change, had advanced to second place, but his front tire changer failed to secure the left front wheel properly before Bell left his pit box.

Bell fell to the back of the pack and couldn't make progress in dirty air after subsequent restarts. He later ran as high as sixth but lost positions when the running order was reshuffled for the lap 201 restart and could only recover to 12th by the end.

Final standings of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway