NASCAR driver Josh Berry has opened up about the harrowing crash he experienced at the Daytona International Speedway, describing the incident as “violent” and shedding light on both the progress made in racecar safety and the ongoing challenges.
Berry, after reviewing footage of the incident, commented to NBC Sports reporter Dustin Long:
“It was violent for sure. I think when we got home I actually turned the race on and watched it back, watched the last 30 or 40 laps and watching it on TV live I realize the concern because it was a big impact.
“Obviously, it’s just such a circumstance there, right? Thankfully there was no grass, right? Otherwise, I’d have ended up just like Ryan. So there’s been huge improvement in that aspect.
“But now it opens the next problem, which is that I was skidding on my roof at 150 with no brakes or no way to slow the car down and then I hit the wall. One fix creates another problem but I know they’ll get it figured out.”
Berry is looking to make a strong comeback from the horrific crash as he is currently vying for Rookie of the Year honors, sitting 19 points behind his competitor, Carson Hocevar.
James Gilbert/Getty Images
Shifting his focus to the upcoming race at Darlington Raceway, Berry aims to mentally move past the Daytona incident. He is set to start the Darlington race from Row 8, P15.
Berry’s team, Stewart-Haas Racing, has faced its own challenges over recent seasons. Despite the impending shutdown of operations for the upcoming season, Berry and his team have shown notable improvements on the track.
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