Richmond race weekend means the first short track on the points-paying NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Unfortunately, a rainy Saturday morning meant drivers and teams would see their only practice session, and additionally, the qualifying session rained out. The rule book would be the decider of the lineup.
Toyota Owners 400
Josh Berry, filling in for Chase Elliott, was forced to start P30. Other than a spin early on, the opening two stages were quiet for Berry and the No. 9 team. Subsequently, he finished stage one in P32 and stage two in P18.
Stage three is where things got interesting and the Rich MARvelous Move of the Race occurred.
The final round of green flag pit stops happened with about 50 to go (some teams coming sooner, some later). However, stand-in crew chief, Tom Gray made the call to run long and keep his driver on track, banking on a caution.
Gray was not alone in this strategy. Additionally, the Nos. 34 of Michael McDowell and 38 of Todd Gilliland were also rolling the dice.
On lap 357, while awaiting word to pit (or for the caution to fly), Berry took the lead. As the early pitters gained ground, he lost the lead and landed in P4 – just as the caution waved (lap 373).
The momentum did not stop there for Berry and the No. 9 NAPA team.
After an excellent call from his crew chief, his pit crew delivered. A speedy stop put Berry back on track in P2 with 21 laps remaining.
One more caution would fly as his teammate, William Byron went for a spin. Unfortunately, this meant one more restart.
Ultimately, Berry would hang on and finish P2 in only his seventh Cup Series start.Â
Post-Race Comments
Post-race, Berry spoke about his second-place finish with excitement. “Man, this is really cool. I have to give all the credit to this NAPA team. Tom, Alan remotely, of course, and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They made some great calls.
When we got some clean track, we weren’t running bad lap times. I’m so glad they tried something different to get us there at the end. Felt like we were decent the whole time. Just getting in cleaner air. We were free to run with Kyle. Man, what a huge day.
You know, to come here and start in the back, no practice, qualifying, get spun out, work through the field like that, just second place, it’s pretty cool.”
PPN would like to extend a huge thank you to Rich Mar Florist for their partnership in the Rich MARvelous Move of the race! Be sure to check out their website for all your floral needs and follow them on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and stay up-to-date with all the Team Rich Mar NASCAR happenings.
