Ex-Penske genius was hopeful of Josh Berry winning in NASCAR Cup Series, just not in Las Vegas

While the NASCAR world was surprised by Josh Berry's Las Vegas win, Wood Brothers Racing itself shared the sentiment. Miles Stanley, No. 21 crew chief and former Team Penske engineer, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio they expected to run well in some tracks except Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Driving the famed No. 21 Ford Mustang, Josh Berry bagged his first Cup Series career win at LVMS on Sunday. He took the lead from Daniel Suarez off-turn four on lap 254 before finishing ahead of the Trackhouse Racing driver and Ryan Preece, respectively.

Miles Stanley shared his thoughts on the surprising win in Sin City. He said [0:47],

"We're still taking it all in. It was a pretty big surprise to me to run that well in Vegas."

"You look at the calendar before the season, you pin some dates, some races on the calendar and, 'This is where I think we can run well. This is where I expect that we can contend...' Vegas was not ones I had pegged. But it was really encouraging to be able to run as well as we did."

Josh Berry, who is on his second full-time NASCAR Cup Series schedule at 34, also gave Wood Brothers Racing its 101st Cup victory. This means the oldest active NASCAR team is set to compete in the playoffs for the second consecutive year following Harrison Burton's postseason run.

Josh Berry driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang at Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

Berry next gears up for the sixth race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Straight Talk Wireless 400 is scheduled for March 23 at 3:00 p.m. ET. FS1 will host the TV coverage, while MRN and SiriusXM will cover the 267-lap race via radio.

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"This feels bigger" - Josh Berry's team boss on Las Vegas win compared to Daytona triumph with Harrison Burton

Wood Brothers Racing co-owner Eddie Wood described Josh Berry's Las Vegas win as "bigger" than Harrison Burton's victory at Daytona last year. Wood commended Berry and crew chief Miles Stanley for their race-winning efforts on Sunday.

The team boss also shared his favorite WBR win before comparing Berry and Burton's wins in the Next-Gen car era. Wood told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio,

"Usually I say, you know, it was Pearson and Richard Petty at Daytona in 76, crashing on the last lap, because I was on the radio with David. And I remember it just like it was yesterday. But the win with Harrison, it was just so needed, and it just fixed a lot of things. It was great for him. It was great for us. And now with Josh winning, it just seems like they get bigger."

He added:

"What you said, they all are. And I was thinking about that last night. I said, you know, Daytona with Harrison was big, but this feels bigger right now just because it is, you know. And, you know, Josh did a great job. Myles did a great job, you know, calling a race."

Harrison Burton drove for Wood Brothers Racing for three years (2022 to 2024). He scored his first win in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona last year after beating Kyle Busch to the line by 0.047 seconds. The win also gave the team its 100th Cup victory.

Burton was dismissed from the team and signed with AM Racing in the Xfinity Series for the 2025 season. Berry took over the No. 21 after spending his rookie year with the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing team last year.

Josh Berry joined the list of NASCAR drivers who won their first Cup race in the No. 21 Ford for WBR. Other drivers include Harrison Burton, Ryan Blaney, and Trevor Bayne, the youngest Daytona 500 winner.