Top Dog: Josh Berry
When the NASCAR Cup Series visits Bristol Motor Speedway in September, it seems like there’s always a shot at a Cinderella story. The “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” often gives the sport’s smaller teams a chance to shine, shrinking the gap between the haves and the have nots inside the garage.
Despite the lack of chaos in the first two stages of the race, two drivers outside of Chase contention showed raw speed in working their way to the front. Brad Keselowski showed some pace in stage one, finishing ninth in the 125-lap stage. The other was Josh Berry, who made up places in the first and second stage to finish sixth at the checkered flag.
That was enough for Berry, who also had an eventful post-race while Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney fought near him on pit road, to earn our top Underdog spot this week.
The Climb to the Top
Berry started 32nd after qualifying was rained out, and at Bristol, that could have spelt danger. After a competition caution on lap 40, it looked like Berry would not be challenging up front because he sat 30th on lap 53.
But as the stage went on, Berry got faster.
At the end of stage one, he had worked his way up to 15th, making up 15 places in just 72 laps. Berry looked poised for a massive comeback, and stage two proved that theory correct.
He started that stage by staying out while others pitted for fresher tires and gaining that track position worked out well for him. Through the first 50 laps of stage two, Berry found himself up two places in fourth behind Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher.
Berry moved up to third on lap 189 by overtaking Buescher, and he would keep that position until lap 225 when Ty Gibbs overtook him. Berry got passed by Joey Logano shortly thereafter, but he regained fourth after blowing by Wallace, a position he would keep through lap 248 when stage two ended early due to a wreck by Cody Ware.
In the final stage, Berry continued to hang around the top five, taking sixth place at the checkered flag. It was his career-best ninth top-10 finish of the season, doubling as the best performance at Bristol in his Cup career.
But Berry will be remembered just as much for what he said on Bristol pit road after the race. As the Hocevar-Blaney fight blew up nearby, Berry sat and watched with fellow competitor Ryan Preece. The duo started hurling insults about Hocevar that were caught on camera and posted on social media.
In this clip, Berry makes a chirping motion with his hands while Preece is seen yelling at Hocevar. No discernible audio could be heard but it’s clear Berry is expressing some frustration. Expect many questions about the details of those comments to be asked during the week and at Kansas Speedway next weekend.
Looking Ahead
Berry gained two positions in the standings, going from 26th to 24th and overtaking Zane Smith and Austin Dillon, although he is tied with Dillon at 494 points.
Berry and the No. 21 team have had it rough this season, but they have looked a lot more competitive in the past two months. This top 10 marks their seventh in the past eight races, which is over three times the total this partnership had in the first 21 races of 2026.
With this much competitive speed, both Berry and the Wood Brothers are looking to close out the year strong. But don’t expect a reunion for 2027; Berry is already signed by Legacy Motor Club for next year while Jesse Love will run the No. 21 for NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year honors.
Top Dog of the Lower Series
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Justin Haley had an incredible drive Thursday night at Bristol. Haley qualified ninth, which set himself up inside the top 10 for the 250-lap race.
It was track position he held for most of the event. Haley was in and around the top 10 all day, finishing 10th in stage one and 13th in stage two, but the final stage is where the 27-year-old came alive. With 100 laps to go, Haley was back inside the top 10 and just 25 laps later, he drove up to sixth. On the final restart on lap 220, Haley made his way up to fourth and would stay there for the remainder of the race to earn RAM’s first top five of the 2026 season.
Small Team Scheme of the Week
Jordan Anderson Racing has created some amazing paint schemes all season, but this week with Blaine Perkins and the No. 31 takes the cake.
The Capriccio Red Blend Sangria car looked like a black-and-white cookie with a jet black-and-white split. There was also an outline of a lion next to the number and different fruits on the quarter panel and roof.
Unfortunately, the on-track action didn’t match the quality scheme. Perkins finished a disappointing 34th in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event but at least he had a paint scheme that shined bright under the Bristol lights.
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