When Josh Berry was announced as Wood Brothers Racing's new driver for the No. 21 Ford last summer, all anybody was thinking about was whether or not he could finally be the guy to get them that elusive 100th NASCAR Cup Series victory.
The Wood Brothers had been stuck on 99 wins since Ryan Blaney won at Pocono Raceway in June 2017. Blaney went to the round of 8 of the playoffs that year, but he did so without adding any more wins.
His replacement, Paul Menard, did not win in 2018 or 2019, and while Menard's replacement, Matt DiBenedetto, got to the playoffs in 2020, he didn't win in 2020 or 2021 either.
Suffice it to say that Harrison Burton's performance was a massive step down from those two. He struggled in 2022 and 2023, yet his performance was still good enough for Wood Brothers Racing to justify making him the first driver to land three straight seasons with the team since Hall of Famer Ricky Rudd from 2003 to 2005.
The 2024 season was even less kind to Burton, as he finished the year last in total points scored among full-time drivers. But there was an outlier.
And that outlier was one that Berry predicted could be the reason why, despite all the hype, he wouldn't even have a chance to get Wood Brothers Racing their 100th win.
Josh Berry's humble Wood Brothers prediction pays off twice
"Really simply, at this point, obviously, they have racing to do this year as well," Berry told Beyond the Flag, when asked about the possibility of delivering the iconic team their 100th win.
"So we can't discount that. They've been on 99 wins since 2017, and they're making an investment and want to get better, want to get more competitive, and they want to win that 100th race."
That statement was made in July of last year. Berry was unwilling to write off Burton, even amid the young driver's massive struggles, and Burton did indeed end up being the driver to secure that 100th win for the team with an August victory at Daytona International Speedway, a win which locked him into the playoffs, even after he had already basically been "fired".
It's that humble, team-first approach that made it even more enjoyable to watch Berry secure win number 101 for the Wood Brothers, and the first of his own Cup Series career, on Sunday afternoon at Las Vegas.
The first career #NASCAR Cup Series win for Josh Berry, pic.twitter.com/ocQ2isLOIk
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 16, 2025
It took the 34-year-old Hendersonville, Tennessee native only five races to win in the No. 21 Ford, and there was never a doubt that he had the talent – and the speed; he started seventh – to do it, and to do it quickly.
And there's even less doubt that that semi-laid back, "control what you can control" approach played into his triumph.
He may not have been the one to get Wood Brothers Racing to win number 100. But let it be known for years to come that his humble, big picture approach made win number 101 even more special.