MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Josh Berry has had a rollercoaster start to his first season with Wood Brothers Racing.
He’s led a lot of laps, he won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and last week he crashed while leading with what appeared to be a dominant Ford Mustang at Texas Motor Speedway.
But as Berry prepares to head to Kansas Speedway this weekend, he’s at ease with his team and his confidence is on the upswing.
“Obviously, we’ve definitely left some points on the table, but the biggest thing is just how you’re running. We’ve been qualifying pretty well and racing well, leading laps,” Berry told the media on Wednesday. “Each race that the finish got away from us is for different reasons I feel like. I made a mistake and sped on pit road at Talladega. We were in a great spot there. Last week, we obviously saw what happened there. I mean, you look at Darlington, we were in the top five.
“At Martinsville we were leading the race and had an electrical issue, but the biggest thing is you judge yourself on how you’re running and how fast you are. I think that just continues to legitimize everything that we’re doing to prepare and everything we’re doing the week of these races and on race weekends that we’re doing the right things and we’re fast and we’re competitive and just have to keep working on the execution side of things and learning. But I feel like we’re in a really good spot.”
Berry, who endured a rocky season last year in what was the final season for Stewart-Haas Racing, has had his confidence restored through 11 races with the Wood Brothers team, which is affiliated with Team Penske.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Berry said. “I think in a way I left the situation last year kind of questioning if I could race at this level, and now you’re looking at a six-month difference of leading laps in multiple races and I’ve won a race and a lot of excitement. It’s been quite a change, but it’s been a lot of fun to get to work with Miles (Stanley, crew chief).
“He’s done a really good job. Everybody on the team really has and they’re behind me a lot, even Sunday right there. ‘We don’t want you to change too much. We want you to keep hammering down and leading laps in these races and giving us opportunities.’ I’m excited to keep working off that.”
Berry said learning more about the Next Gen car has led to his ability to run up front and that in turn has built his confidence.
“I think you’re just building a lot of confidence,” Berry said. “I feel like one thing with this car is it’s so different than what the majority of us have all grown up racing and just how it reacts. I’ve kind of learned and feel like I have a good understanding of the Next Gen car and how it wants to be driven, and what I need from the car coming to these race tracks.
“That’s kind of lining up with how Miles feels and how we’re able to prepare for these races, whether that’s decisions we make with the car or our prep at the simulator. I think it just builds a lot of confidence to know that you’re working in the right areas and doing the right things and then seeing it come to fruition.
“All in all, a lot of it boils down to just unloading really well and building that confidence early in practice, getting a good feel for your car that sets you up for a good qualifying session, and then obviously having good track position to start the race makes your life a lot easier,” Berry noted. “I think learning all of that stuff and building off of it is the biggest help.”
