MYRTLE BEACH, SC – While other competitors are locked in points battles, Josh Berry is focused solely on winning races in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour.
Berry competed in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday night and arrived at Myrtle Beach Speedway on Saturday to race in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour event. After winning a week ago in a Late Model Stock Car race at the South Carolina track, Berry backed it up by qualifying on the pole for Saturday night’s race.
“I feel like we have a really good car tonight,” Berry said. “We came down here last week and raced and was really good. We struggled the past few times we’ve been here so we made the car a little bit better. Obviously, that showed tonight with both JR Motorsports cars on the front row.”
With the pole lap now under his belt, Berry is hoping to score his seventh career CARS Late Model Stock Tour victory.
“I think we’ll definitely be good,” Berry said. “We came down here last week and won twin races which is never easy to do. We’ve got a good car, just have to try to manage it and be there at the end and hopefully we’ll win.”
Berry’s Myrtle Beach effort comes a day after an impressive 13th place finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, racing for Carlos Contreras and Contreras Motorsports.
“We ran to get some experience,” Berry explained. “It was their deal. It was fun. We got the best finish those guys have had all year. We learned a lot. I really wanted to do it because I’m running the XFINITY car at Kentucky next Saturday night so it was a good way to get some mile and a half experience.”
Berry has impressed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series where he has two top-10 finishes in five career starts, but last night’s run in the Truck Series was impressive since the Contreras Motorsports team is one of the more underfunded teams in the series.
“They’re underfunded,” Berry remarked. “They don’t have the best of the best but we made the most of it. There’s a couple small things they can work on. They work hard and they’re trying to get to the next step, they just need the direction to do that.
“I learned a lot about the aero part of it racing at the mile and a half tracks. If it helps me finish a position or two better next Saturday, it will be worth it.”
On the Late Model Stock Car side, Berry has had an impressive season and has emerged as one of the best drivers in the discipline in recent years. This season, he has 11 wins. His only regret is that he will not be able to win the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship – unless some bizarre circumstances play out in the final three races.
“We’ve been really good all year,” Berry said. “We’ve won 11 races. Not many people this year have won 11 races. We’ve been good and I’m disappointed we’re not in the points but I’m trying to get to the next step with my career so I did what I had to do there.”
Berry’s already looking ahead to the Valley Star Credit Union 300 at Martinsville as well, which is the crowned jewel event in Late Model Stock Car racing. As strong as he has been this season, Berry hopes he can score a win at the famed half mile oval in October.
“That’s obviously the goal,” Berry said. “At this point, that’s the only track that I’ve raced at that I haven’t won so I feel like we’re on our game right now. Martinsville’s tough. A lot ofunknowns, a lot of things that can happen. You have to be at the right place at the right time. Fortunately for me, I’ve had a really good year. Hopefully, if we’re good, it can carry over and be there at the end.
“If you can just be there at the front. Ultimately, if we can stay up there at the front, we have as good a shot as anyone.”
Berry’s JR Motorsports teammate, Christian Eckes qualified second for the race while Deac McCaskill, Layne Riggs and Craig Stallard round out the top five starters. Raphael Lessard qualified on the pole over Brandon Setzer, Steve Wallace, Dalton Sargeant and Chad McCumbee for the CARS Super Late Model race.
The races can be seen live on RACEFEEDX.com. Short Track Scene will have complete, comprehensive postrace coverage.
