Josh Berry has only been a member of Wood Brothers Racing for four points-paying races, but he has already broken ground for the historic team.
Berry scored his first top-five finish this season when he crossed the line fourth at Phoenix Raceway. This helped him rebound from three straight finishes of 25th or worse. More importantly, he scored Wood Brothers Racing's first-ever top-five finish at the 1-mile track.
He chose a fitting time to deliver this milestone. Wood Brothers Racing celebrates its 75th anniversary this season.
P4. Not bad for the ‘lol they’re behind the guy that ran 1 race in points’ team.
-signed,
Definitely not admin
— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) March 9, 2025
The team entered the weekend with 43 starts at Phoenix Raceway and five top-10 finishes. Ryan Blaney accounted for two of them in 2016. Matt DiBenedetto delivered one in 2020.
Elliott Sadler scored a top-10 in 2002. Morgan Shepherd's seventh-place finish in 1995 was the team's best mark at Phoenix Raceway until Berry showed up.
"I am just honestly so excited," Berry said after the race. "This racetrack was pretty tough for me last year, and these guys have great cars, without a doubt here.
"That was proven again today, and we executed pretty solidly and was able to get a good finish, which is really good."
Berry did not have a simple afternoon at the race track despite qualifying fourth and scoring six stage points.
He dropped to 30th in the running order early after a miscue on pit road. The team left a lug nut loose, so Berry had to back up the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford so the crew could tighten it.
Despite dealing with this issue, Berry still drove back through the field to put himself in contention for a top-five finish. He didn't even have to gamble by using the option tires earlier than expected, as Joey Logano and other drivers did.
"I hate that we had that mistake on pit road with the left rear that kind of knocked us back, but we were able to fight back up there and had some really good restarts," Berry said.
"I felt like myself again. It is amazing what you can do when the car is handling like that. It was really solid and staying underneath me. I am super proud of these guys."
This top-five finish was significant for Berry and Wood Brothers Racing, but work still remains. The second-year driver is currently 21st in points. He is 15 points behind Ross Chastain, the final driver above the playoff cutline.