Notes of Interest
● Josh Berry heads to Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway coming off his best points day of the season at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. He started last Sunday’s 400-lap event from the 30th position, just like he did in the 2023 spring Richmond race while subbing for the fourth of five races in a row for an injured Chase Elliott, in which he charged to a runner-up finish. Last weekend, Berry once again made a hard charge through the field, finishing ninth in the first stage and second in the second stage before taking the checkered flag 11th – his best finish of 2024. His determined run moved him to 23rd in the Cup Series standings and to the top spot in the rookie standings. He leads Carson Hocevar, the next-best rookie, by nine markers.
● Berry returns to Martinsville this Sunday poised to contend for a win. While it is his first race in the Cup Series at the .526-mile paperclip-shaped oval, the 33-year-old Cup Series rookie has one NASCAR Xfinity Series win there, which came in his first Xfinity Series start at the Virginia short track in the spring 2021 race. He’s totaled six Xfinity Series starts there, which have netted three top-fives and an average finish of 12.8.
● Berry first made a name for himself on short tracks, climbing the ranks to earn his seat in the Cup Series by dominating at the grassroots level. During his days driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr., as part of the JR Motorsports Late Model program, Berry amassed an impressive 95 victories in his 262 starts with the team, with 189 top-fives and 219 top-10s. He was also the NASCAR Weekly Series champion in 2020, finishing every race but one inside the top-10 that season.
● Crew chief Rodney Childers has a deep history at Martinsville in the Cup Series. In his previous 33 starts calling the shots, Childers’ drivers have notched two top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, an average starting position of 13.9 and an average finish of 15.6.
● The Mobil 1 branding on Berry’s No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse this weekend goes more than skin deep as the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand gives Berry an added advantage. This weekend however, the No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse will don the 50th anniversary gold and black colors. Mobil 1 products are used throughout his racecar, and they extend beyond just engine oil. Power steering fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil and driveline lubricants from Mobil 1 give Berry a technical advantage over his counterparts by reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance. Mobil 1 is a sponsor whose technology makes Berry’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang Dark Horse faster.
Josh Berry, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Coming off of your best Cup Series finish of the season at Richmond Raceway, what are your expectations this weekend at Martinsville – another short track?
“I think it should be another good opportunity for us to build on the success we’ve have had at the short tracks this year. Martinsville has been a good place for me in the past. I feel like if we can continue to carry the momentum we have had at some of the other short tracks this year, there’s no reason we can’t go contend for a win.”
Looking back at all of your racing across all series you’ve run with there, what were some of the biggest lessons you learned that led to your success at Martinsville?
“One of the things I learned really early on was just having patience. There are so many situations where you can get into trouble early in the race and just having the patience to keep the car clean and be smart because those races are just so long. This weekend will be the longest race I have run there by far, so having the patience and discipline to be smart early will help me and the No. 4 team work our way through the race and hopefully be there at the end.”
The race at Martinsville race is extremely taxing with how much you will shift, brake, and drive one-handed at some points – explain how psychical the race is.
“The short tracks are a touch harder with just how active we are behind the wheel – you honestly don’t get much time where you aren’t doing anything behind the wheel because the straightaways aren’t very long. There’s just a lot happening there over 400 laps and, add shifting a lot in the mix, the drivers stay busy. But I am prepared for it, and having a short-track background helps and I feel as prepared for this race as I can be.”
How challenging are the restarts at Martinsville, and how will your experience with the restarts at Richmond prepare you for this weekend?
“The restarts are really important there. A lot can happen and it’s easy to get in trouble there quickly and there might be varying strategies at play, so it makes it that much more chaotic at times. But I think the more races I get under my belt in the Cup Series, the better I feel about how I manage those restarts this season.”
Do you left-foot brake?
“Yeah, I have done that since the start of my racing career. It is just what feels natural. I think most guys, if not all, do it that way.”
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