Josh Berry picked up his first NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday, taking the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The freshly crowned Pennzoil 400 champion climbed out of his car to celebrate but skipped the traditional burnout. After the race, he explained why.
Josh Berry Explains His Low-Key Victory Celebration at Las Vegas
Berry had to chase down Daniel Suárez after a restart with 19 laps to go, ultimately holding onto the lead to deliver Wood Brothers Racing their first win of the season. In the post-race press conference, Berry was asked why he didn’t do a burnout. He credited Dale Earnhardt Jr. for influencing his decision.
Josh Berry was asked why he chose not to do a burnout celebrating his first Cup win. Gave a couple reasons, saying he was inspired by @DaleJr 's celebration after the 2014 Daytona 500 as well as his roots on short tracks and wanting to savor the moment.
"I wanted to enjoy it. I… pic.twitter.com/7Z4xSSnz4a
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 17, 2025
“There’s a couple reasons. For one, over the course of the offseason, I found myself watching the 2014 Daytona 500 when Dale won,” Berry said. “He went down to one and kind of swung around took his stuff off, waved at the fans. I think back of Saturday night short-track racing, we wouldn’t have that type of celebration because you couldn’t blow the quarter panels up, blow the motor, tear the car to hell after the race.
“That’s just wanted to do. Kind of who I am. I did a little bit of one there at the end there, just kind of spun around a couple times. That’s just who I am as a person. I’ve spent my whole life working on my own race cars, building race cars, got my ass chewed a couple times for doing burnouts when I shouldn’t and tore stuff up. I just want to soak in the moment.”
Berry is in his second full-time season in the Cup Series. The 34-year-old wrapped up 2024 with four top-10 finishes and finished 27th in the standings. So far in 2025, he has already earned two top-five finishes across five races, including his breakthrough win at Las Vegas.
His tribute to Earnhardt makes sense, considering he raced for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series in 2022 and 2023. He secured three wins and finished fourth in the standings in 2022. Though he didn’t reach Victory Lane in 2023, he still collected 11 top-five finishes.
Berry also reflected on the significance of earning his first Cup win in his 50th career start.
“As a racer and a person, I’m 34 years old and have been racing for years and years and years,” he said. “Even though it’s at a different level, I’ve seen a lot of different things. I feel like that proved in the Xfinity Series that I was maybe a little bit more prepared than really I thought I was. Now to be here today, it’s really cool.”