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Josh Berry wins first career Cup Series race at Las Vegas
NASCAR Cup Series driver Josh Berry (21) celebrates his victory following the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Josh Berry wins first career NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas

For the 101st time, the iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford took the checkered flag in a NASCAR Cup Series race. 

Behind the wheel was a driver who snagged his first win at the Cup Series level — 34-year-old Josh Berry, who in just his fifth race with the Wood Brothers, got around Daniel Suarez to earn his first Cup Series win in his 53rd Cup Series start. 

"I don't even know what to think," Berry told Fox Sports. 

"Congratulations to Josh, he did a great job," Suarez told Fox Sports. "We did everything right. Our car was fast. We just struggled a little bit on the short run."

William Byron and Kyle Larson were two of the fastest cars on Sunday, but a caution with 73 laps to go forced a myriad of strategy decisions. Larson and Byron were two of the cars that opted to pit and ensure they wouldn't run out of fuel late in the race, which left the door open for the likes of Berry and Suarez. 

However, a caution with 25 laps to go set up the biggest restart of Berry's career and a test that he passed with flying colors. 

Berry cleared Suarez for the lead with 14 laps to go and never looked back. 

Suarez, Ryan Preece, Byron and Ross Chastain rounded out the top-five, with Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott completing the top 10. 

Other notable finishers include Christopher Bell — who saw his three-race win streak come to an end — in 12th, defending champion Joey Logano in 15th, polesitter Michael McDowell in 16th, Tyler Reddick in 24th and Carson Hocevar in 30th. 

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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