CONCORD, N.C. – It took more than 16 years, but Josh Berry finally delivered JR Motorsports its first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Known for his prowess on short tracks, Berry put his superspeedway skill on full display, leading a race-high 89 laps and beating Ty Gibbs to the checkered flag by 18.039 seconds.
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“I felt like we had a good car,” Berry said. “I wasn’t sure I could rip the fence at Charlotte for 200 laps, but we did it. The battle with Justin (Allgaier) was so intense, we were just battling and racing each other. All in all, an amazing day. I’m really excited for Harrison’s, they’re a regional company with six stores in the Carolinas, so I know they’re excited.”
Berry took the lead from fellow JRM driver Justin Allgaier with 23 laps to go and never relinquished it, despite a stirring battle between the two teammates. Allgaier’s hopes of victory were ultimately dashed by a tire failure from impact with the outside wall in his attempt at retaking the lead.
“The reality of it is, all of our cars are phenomenal right now and we’re going to have to race each other,” Berry said. “More often than not, Justin and I find ourselves competing for wins. I respect Justin. He’s an underrated race car driver who’s very, very good. That was a tough battle. It came down to who was going to slip. Luckily, I didn’t. It’s amazing. I’ve been running up and down the East Coast, the Carolinas, Virginia. The reality is I never thought I’d get opportunities like this, but the guys at JR Motorsports have stuck with me. We grinded away on the short tracks and never gave up, just kept fighting. So thankful to be here. Winning at Charlotte is really special. It’s always special racing around here. This was always going to be a great benchmark for where we are as a company, and it exceeded our expectations.”
JR Motorsports made it three drivers in the top four at the finish, with polesitter Sam Mayer third and Noah Gragson fourth. Ryan Preece finished fifth.
Defending series champion Daniel Hemric was sixth with Allgaier seventh, Sheldon Creed eighth, Trevor Bayne ninth and Myatt Snider 10th.
Berry’s win was the first for JRM at Charlotte since Kasey Kahne won the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in 2015.