Josh Berry and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team looked poised for a strong result in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400, but their run was cut short by a multi-car accident at the start of Stage 2, leaving them with a 32nd-place finish.
After starting from the outside pole, Berry ran solidly inside the top 10 and earned a seventh-place finish in the opening 60-lap Stage 1. He made a scheduled pit stop during the Stage break and restarted from 22nd at the beginning of Stage 2.
Once the field was back under green, a chain-reaction crash unfolded ahead of Berry on the backstretch. With little room to maneuver, the No. 21 was caught in the incident, which ultimately involved more than 20 cars.
“I have no idea really what happened,” Berry told reporters at the track. “It looked like they were just pushing each other hard for eighth, 10th, 12th [place] and got squirrely.
“It’s just disappointing getting taken out and having that happen with this many laps left.”
The misfortune was especially frustrating given the speed shown by the Ford camp throughout the weekend. With support from their alliance with Team Penske, the No. 21 team joined the Penske trio in locking down the top four starting positions.
“We had the four fastest cars [Friday],” he said. “We were doing our best to fend off all the battles and work with each other at the beginning.
“Everyone on our 21 team and everybody at Team Penske have a lot to be proud of for how yesterday and the start of the race went. Unfortunately, we just got swept up in somebody else’s mess.”
The incident also ended Berry’s run in the In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style elimination format that rewards the overall winner with a $1 million prize.
“Coming here you knew that was probably going to happen,” he said. “Everybody thought they had it figured out, but they weren’t planning on that.”
Berry and the No. 21 team will now turn their attention to the streets of Chicago for next Sunday’s Grant Park 165.