Josh Berry continues short track success at Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa — Amid the final days of Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, Josh Berry is out to prove he deserves a Cup Series ride for 2025.

In the inaugural Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, Berry muscled his No.4 car to a seventh-place finish, marking another strong short-track run.

Berry collected bonus points in the first two stages, finishing fifth in stage one and second in stage two. Berry appeared to have the third-best car Sunday, leading 32 laps.

While Ryan Blaney (who led 201 laps) struggled with handling and Kyle Larson (who led 80 laps) wrecked, Berry rose above them. He took the lead on lap 228, just after Larson wrecked. He took command of the racing on lap 232 after a battle with Chris Buescher and led for 31 laps.

Then, a caution came out on lap 261. Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. jumped ahead of him after taking two tires, while Berry took four.

On lap 267, Berry lined up on the third row behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Blaney in the lead. Stenhouse didn’t fire off as well as Blaney, resulting in a poor restart. 

Berry finished seventh instead of going to victory lane, as appeared possible before that caution.

The short track specialist has shown speed at short tracks like Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond. The results just haven’t consistently been there for the No.4 team until recently. All three of his top-10 finishes this season – third at Darlington, 10th at Charlotte and seventh at Iowa, have come in the last five races.

Berry will likely require a win to get into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. He sits -100 points below the cutline after Iowa.

Luckily, Berry has two prime opportunities at spoiling the playoff party – next week at New Hampshire and Richmond in a few weeks.

The final races of the regular season could offer him a shot as well. Daytona and Darlington, the site of his third-place finish last month, will close it out.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The USA Today 301 will go green at around 2:30 p.m. ET.

MORE:

• Ryan Blaney becomes first NASCAR Cup Series winner at Iowa Speedway