1. Josh Berry’s win should be no surprise
When a driver gets their first career win in a series, notably when it’s for a team that’s only checkered flag in the past seven seasons came on a superspeedway, words like “stunning,” “shocking” and “upset” may come to mind.
Leave those words aside when it comes to what Josh Berry did on Sunday (March 16) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Berry’s exploits on Sunday did not come out of nowhere. In the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, your usual late-race calamity ruined a chance at a top-five finish, if not more. Last week at Phoenix Raceway, Berry piloted the No. 21 to a fourth-place start… and finish.
Compare that to how Harrison Burton never quite got things going in the No. 21 the past three years with six combined top-10 finishes, and Berry showed out of the gate that the corner was already being turned for Wood Brothers Racing, and Sunday turned those whispers to triumphant shouts.
The thing is, the schedule has not even gotten to tracks where you would expect Berry to be a big factor such as Richmond Raceway or Martinsville Speedway.
Now, with a playoff spot in hand, the pressure is off Berry. That’s very welcome news for a driver in arguably the best opportunity of his racing career and could be unwelcome for the competition.
2. Burton’s rally is already impressing
Speaking of the most recent driver of the No. 21 car…
When a driver moves up to the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time and things do not quite pan out the right way, it’s easy to cast off that driver as damaged goods.
Or as the late, great Fred Thompson noted in Days Of Thunder, “You boys ever hear of Japanese inspection?”
NASCAR’s history is filled with drivers who were given an incredible opportunity that did not pan out. For example, Casey Atwood’s chance with Evernham Motorsports lasted just one season for multiple reasons unless you include satellite operations and a handful of other opportunities.
Atwood is far from the only one in that group who not only did not see things shake out the right way but was unable to reclaim that level of expectation after being so close to the top of the heap.
But for every driver like Atwood, there are those such as Randy LaJoie and Ted Musgrave, who did not let something going the wrong way at NASCAR’s highest level be the sunset of their career.
Burton is on track to do that of the latter.
For a team that had limited results with a combined seven drivers last season, expectations for AM Racing and its new driver Burton were a mystery as this season began, as the best 2024 finish by a non-Cup driver for that team was no better than 13th.
Burton and AM showed that they both not only have the determination to step things up, but they have to live up to those aspirations.
Finishes of sixth at Daytona International Speedway and tenth at Atlanta Motor Speedway were a good start, but a top-20 start at Las Vegas and finishing eighth was an even bigger sign of what this team and driver combo is capable of.
Racing for one of the sport’s most iconic teams can be a fishbowl, but going to work for an under-the-radar team like AM is a situation that could be just right for a driver aiming to rally back.
3. Could Cup drivers moonlighting in other series be on borrowed time?
Fans of racing in non-NASCAR series are most certainly thankful that team owners have loosened their grip on drivers hitting the dirt tracks and other venues outside of the regular NASCAR race weekend schedules. So are promotors of those racing series.
You’re an even bigger fan of it if you call yourself a fan of either Kyle Larson or Christopher Bell. But could this window of barnstorming be on borrowed time?
On Saturday night, Ty Gibbs drew major eyeballs as his High Limit Racing sprint car flipped multiple times. Gibbs walked away from things, but the question has to be raised about how much risk getting back to the grassroots of racing is worth.
There is a certain incentive for drivers to kick back and have fun outside the rat race of the Cup Series, and you can argue that it can be rejuvenating.
But if a driver is injured while doing so, it could be the end, to a degree, of drivers at the top level of NASCAR moonlighting.
4. Lack of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series OT? Keep it up
There’s a stigma, one that is unfairly tagged, when it comes to a series of drivers lacking experience. The stereotype is there, something to the vein of “these darn kids running into one another driving trucks someone else pays for…”
You would think that the mentality would be worse toward the finish with drivers not caring about anything except finishing a race and letting someone else deal with the carnage.
Current drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series are flipping that script as 17, yes, 17 races have ended without the need for overtime. If you show up expecting the race to end with exactly the number of advertised laps, then this is your series.
Is it a fluke? Is it a factor of these drivers perhaps being concerned about building a reputation of needlessly or not needlessly tearing up good equipment?
Regardless, it’s a lack of a demolition derby and very welcome to see, and most importantly, it puts the focus of this series where it should be – on the racing.
5. Is the pressure on Homestead-Miami Speedway to have a great race?
Circuit of the Americas.
Phoenix Raceway.
Las Vegas.
What do these races have in common? All of them have delivered this season on the excitement level in terms of racing in the Cup Series.
So now, with NASCAR having indicated that the championship race is being considered for a rotation to multiple venues, the pressure is on a track that based on previous races would be a prime choice.
That would be the next step on the NASCAR schedule, this weekend at Homestead-Miami.
If there is to be a strong wind of momentum to conclude the season in South Florida, then this track needs to do what it has done the past few years – deliver great racing.
Is that a high expectation? Maybe, but not when considering that this track usually, with the backdrop of generally good weather, does that.
If the checkered flag falls on Sunday without tire gremlins and a race filled with multiple passes for the lead, then it would make a strong case to bring the title race to Homestead.
Brad joined Frontstretch.com in 2020 and contributes to the site's 5 Points To Ponder column and other roles as needed. A graduate of the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has covered sports in some capacity for more than 20 years with coverage including local high school sports, college athletics and minor league hockey. Brad has received multiple awards for his work from the Georgia Press Association.