Josh Berry: NASCAR Cup playoffs 2025 preview

For the second consecutive season, the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 car will be in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs — this time with Josh Berry.

Josh Berry’s 2025 season has been a major struggle. Pulling off a victory at Las Vegas in the spring was impressive and shocking — and secured himself a playoff spot.

It was a similar story in 2024 for the Wood Brothers. They snatched a win at Daytona with Harrison Burton right before the playoffs, leapfrogging them from near the bottom of the points standings into the top 16. 

Berry’s leapfrog in 2025 is less outrageous than Burton’s but it still will take a playoff spot from drivers who’ve run slightly better.

For context, Berry ended the regular season in 22nd in the points standings. The only two playoff drivers with less championship points were Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Dillon.

Apart from the Las Vegas win, Berry’s only finishes inside the top-10 have been at Phoenix (fourth), Kansas (Kansas) and Richmond (eighth). If Berry is going to advance beyond the Round of 16, the speed is gonna have to show up quickly. 

His chances in the first round are gonna be limited but Berry was able to drive his way to a third-place finish at Darlington there in 2024. That’s his only top-10 at any of the three tracks in the first round. 

If Josh Berry manages to get to the next round, his chances could increase. New Hampshire opens the round as he finished third there a year ago. Then follows Kansas, where he finished sixth earlier this season.

If the Round of 8 is in his future, he’ll likely need to have some padding heading into the ROVAL. 

Then comes the Round of 8, which opens at the site of his win earlier this season, Las Vegas. While a win could certainly happen again, it would require the circumstances falling in his favor like they did in the spring, which might be wishful thinking at this stage of the game. Talladega and Martinsville are much more realistic prospects for solid runs, despite the Las Vegas win. 

All that being said, Berry’s climb out of the first round will be challenging enough. If the speed doesn’t show up quickly, Josh Berry’s first NASCAR Cup Series playoffs might be a quick one.