With two laps to go in Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, Josh Berry saw clean air as momentum pulled the No. 4 Ford Mustang to the lead on the backstretch.
However, Berry’s car was diverted from straight to sideways and upside down in a matter of seconds.
Austin Cindric got a bump from Kyle Busch on the inside lane, which sent Cindric up into Berry. From there, chaos ensued.
The Stewart-Haas Racing driver became a passenger of sorts as Berry’s his No. 4 Ford skidded across the backstretch apron before tagging the inside wall hard and spinning countless times.
After many held their breath while NASCAR’s safety team helped upright Berry’s battered machine, the first-year Cup Series driver emerged from his cockpit with a wave to signal he was OK.
In what looked like a terrifying accident to watch live due to the violent impact, Berry came away unscathed.
“I’m good. It probably wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Berry said. “But, man, I was bummed because we had a hell of a night going. Just such a great job by Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and this whole 4 team. This car was so strong, and we were in position.”
Despite the outcome, Berry was complimentary of the No. 4 SHR team’s efforts as he led nine laps and ran at the front of the field for the majority of the event at the 2.5-mile oval.
“Man, I’m really proud of the job I did tonight, the job the whole team did because we were in contention and that could’ve been our day,” Berry said. “But it didn’t work out. I just want to thank everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford and NASCAR for building safe race cars, eero for coming on board tonight.
“It’s disappointing, but whether we would’ve won or flipped, we’re going to go to work Monday and try to win next week.”
Berry has one more shot to make the NASCAR Playoffs when the series heads to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for the famed Cook Out Southern 500 next week.
He’s currently 24th on the playoff grid, 210 markers out of the 16th and final spot. Berry will need a victory to secure a playoff berth.