NASCAR’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 race at Daytona International Speedway saw one of its scariest incidents yet. Josh Berry, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, experienced a severe crash on the 158th lap during a race restart.
Leading the pack alongside Austin Cindric, Berry attempted a defensive move on the 160th lap, which led to a high-speed collision that left his car somersaulting violently across the track.
In the immediate aftermath, NASCAR’s well-coordinated safety team was quick to the scene, helping Berry remove himself from the overturned wreckage. From here, he was sent to a medic who confirmed that he was okay.
Following the incident, social media was quick to send the driver some love. Among the voices was Josh Berry’s wife, Ginny Lauren, who turned to Instagram to express her pride in her husband’s performance and her gratitude towards the response from the team and the marshals involved in helping the driver.
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
She posted:
“Last night was a wild one. Couldn’t be prouder of @joshberry88 and the entire 4 team. First stage win and was leading coming to the white flag, before the big one happened.
“Thanks to everyone that has reached out and checked on all of us @potterphoto.”
Continuing on her Instagram stories, Lauren admitted she’d seen the crash a number of times:
“I’ve watched this many times since last night. I’m thankful for all of the safety measures & that Josh is okay after this.”
Despite the shocking visuals of the crash, Josh Berry reassured fans and followers in a post-race interview with NBC Sports, via Motorsport.com.
“It probably wasn’t as bad as it looked,” he told NBC Sports. “Man, I’m bummed because we had a hell of a night going. Just such a great job by [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and this whole No. 4 team.
“The car was so strong. We were in position. I’m just really proud of the job I did tonight and really proud of the whole team. We were in contention. That could have been our day, but it didn’t work out.”
This season has seen Berry in the thick of it, securing four Top 10s and two Top 5 finishes across 25 races. With an average start position of 19.32 and an average finish of 21.36, Berry has shown significant reliability, especially as he prepares to join Wood Brothers Racing for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, following SHR’s planned cessation at the year’s end.
2024 NASCAR Cup Series: Current Standings
- Tyler Reddick – 823 points
- Kyle Larson – 806 points
- Chase Elliott – 805 points
- Ryan Blaney – 755 points
- William Byron – 743 points
- Christopher Bell – 737 points
- Brad Keselowski – 718 points
- Denny Hamlin – 712 points
- Martin Truex Jr – 695 points
- Ty Gibbs – 676 points
- Chris Buescher – 658 points
- Alex Bowman – 648 points
- Bubba Wallace – 637 points
- Ross Chastain – 631 points
- Joey Logano – 586 points
- Kyle Busch – 552 points
- Daniel Suárez – 527 points
- Chase Briscoe – 514 points
- Austin Cindric – 486 points
- Todd Gilliland – 480 points
- Carson Hocevar – 467 points
- Michael McDowell – 459 points
- Josh Berry – 448 points
- Noah Gragson – 426 points
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr – 404 points
- Erik Jones – 381 points
- Ryan Preece – 368 points
- Daniel Hemric – 365 points
- Austin Dillon – 360 points
- Justin Haley – 356 points
- John H. Nemechek – 343 points
- Corey LaJoie – 335 points
- Zane Smith – 316 points
- Harrison Burton – 306 points
- Kaz Grala – 166 points
- Cody Ware – 98 points
- Joey Hand – 43 points
- Jimmie Johnson – 39 points
- Derek Kraus – 32 points
- David Ragan – 17 points
- Kamui Kobayashi – 8 points
- Will Brown – 6 points
- Cam Waters – 2 points
