It was a major uphill battle for Josh Berry entering Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. After qualifying 33rd on Saturday, the Stewart-Haas Racing rookie was mired deep in the field.
However, Berry was up for the challenge. Vaulting to 17th by the end of Stage One, the No. 4 Ford Mustang showed plenty of pace.
Berry rose to 14th in Stage Two, but eventually worked his way into the top 10 as he vaulted to fifth in the latter part of the race.
After Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick’s contact at the front of the field knocked them out of contention with 10 laps to go, Berry slotted into third to earn his best result of the season.
“It was just a really good day,” Berry admitted. “We had a really good car yesterday in practice, but unfortunately didn’t qualify like we should have.
“There’s a lot to take from that, but, overall, the car was really strong.”
The stout result was even sweeter for the No. 4 team as Berry was sporting a paint scheme that replicated one that his crew chief, Rodney Childers, drove in 1998 in late model competition.
Berry was optimistic on his outlook looking forward, stating he and the team “feel like we’re capable of days like this.”
“We just have to keep chipping away at it, keep learning, keep getting better week in and week out,” Berry said. “I have a great group around me and this is a finish they deserve for sure.”