It took less than half a lap into Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway for Josh Berry to experience a major setback to his NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes.
In fact, Berry’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford didn’t even completely make it through the first corner.
So, what exactly went wrong so quickly for Berry in the opening race of the Cup Series playoffs? And what are the broader implications for Berry, moving forward?
How It All Went South In A Hurry For Josh Berry At Darlington
After turning the third-fastest lap in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Josh Berry appeared poised for a potentially big Sunday at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”
But Berry, one of 16 playoff drivers in the field, inexplicably lost control of his No. 21 car on the exit of Turn 2 on the very first lap. Running inside of fellow playoff driver Tyler Reddick, Berry’s machine broke free when it momentarily wiggled left before abruptly veering a hard right into Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota on the outside.
16 enter, but only one can be champion.
The #NASCARPlayoffs kick off now with the #Southern500 at @TooToughToTame but there's trouble early! pic.twitter.com/eTBDcitTb5
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 31, 2025
The contact sent both drivers momentarily sliding out of control and set off a chain-reaction accident that also involved the cars of Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez.
Luckily for Reddick, the 23XI Racing driver suffered only minor damage to his Michael Jordan- and Denny Hamlin-owned car, which continued on and actually finished second to race winner Chase Briscoe. Berry, however, was not nearly as fortunate.
Sporting significant damage from colliding with not only Reddick but, just a second later, the outside wall, Berry immediately took his vehicle to the garage for repairs. He eventually returned to the race, running 38th out of 38 cars and over 100 laps down.
A tough start to a long night for @joshberry.
The No. 21 is behind the wall. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/eyToN8SEkI
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 31, 2025
What Josh Berry’s Terrible Night At Darlington Means For His Playoff Situation
Naturally, Josh Berry’s wreck at the 1.336-mile, egg-shaped Darlington oval did nothing to improve his NASCAR Cup Series playoff predicament.
Coming into the first race of the three-race Round of 16, Berry ranked 13th out of 16 playoff drivers. However, Berry was just one position to the wrong side of the cutline for avoiding elimination and advancing to the Round of 12. Even better for Berry, he sat just one point behind 11th-place Ross Chastain and 12th-place Joey Logano.
But, as a result of his mishap so early in the race at Darlington, Berry will head to World Wide Technology Raceway next weekend tied for last among the 16 championship-eligible drivers.
He and Alex Bowman are both 19 points behind new bubble man Shane van Gisbergen, who holds the final transfer spot for the Round of 12.
That means a much steeper hill to climb for Berry, who has struggled throughout much of 2025 after locking up a playoff berth with an early-season win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
