LAS VEGAS — Josh Berry celebrated his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series after making a bold move late in the race, leading him and the famous No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to victory lane. With just 13 laps left after a restart, Berry overtook Daniel Suárez and cruised to the finish line, finishing about one second ahead of the closest competitor. “I really love this track. Las Vegas has treated me well,” Berry shared, mentioning his two previous wins in the NASCAR Xfinity series at this location. “The team at Wood Brothers Racing provided me with a great car today.”
Suárez took second place, Ryan Preece came in third, Ross Chastain secured fourth, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five in the race. Kyle Larson dominated the event by leading for 61 laps out of a total of 267 and finished in ninth place.
“Definitely a bit disappointed,” Suárez said after being near the front for most of the race. “We did everything right; we had an amazing strategy for our pit stops. We were just a little off on the short run.”
Sunday’s race set a new record with 32 lead changes, surpassing the previous record of 27.
In the final stage of the race, fuel strategy became crucial. Some teams chose to pit during a caution right after the stage break, while others decided to take a risk and stay out. A caution with 25 laps remaining meant that all drivers had the same strategy, giving an edge to those who had stayed out earlier, like Berry and Suárez.
Loose wheels and various pit road issues affected many top drivers on Sunday. Chase Briscoe lost a wheel after an early pit stop during the green flag, which caused the first caution of the race. Because of this incident, Briscoe’s crew chief and tire changer may face suspensions for the next two races.
Kyle Busch’s strong performance ended on lap 113 when a wheel and rim came off his car. He had been leading laps earlier in the race until a speeding penalty on pit road pushed him back into traffic. Busch finished in 33rd place, 35 laps behind the leader.
Christopher Bell, who aimed to tie a modern record with his fourth consecutive win, faced a problem with a loose wheel after a pit stop. His team spotted the issue before he left the pit area, and a crew from Joe Gibbs Racing, his teammate’s group, fixed it. This resulted in a penalty when the race restarted, and Bell ended up finishing in 12th place.
Berry’s victory marks the 101st win for Wood Brothers Racing, which is the oldest team in NASCAR. Their last win was at Daytona in August 2024 with Harrison Burton driving.
The NASCAR Cup Series will resume on Sunday, March 23, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Tyler Reddick is the reigning champion.
