| Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse turned in a resilient performance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, finishing second in the Mobil 1 301 after leading laps and showcasing race-winning speed throughout the day and rallying back from an early spin.Berry rolled off from the third position and quickly moved into second, challenging Ford Racing teammate Joey Logano for the lead early. He remained near the front until a caution late in Stage 1 shuffled the order, and Berry finished fourth. Stage 2 brought adversity when contact from the No. 88 car sent Berry spinning on Lap 82, but he avoided damage and steadily worked his way back from outside the top 30 to finish the stage in 10th.The final stage highlighted the team’s long-run strength as Berry charged back into the top five and moved into third by Lap 231. A timely caution with 60 laps to go allowed the No. 21 to restart as the race leader with 42 laps remaining, and Berry fought hard to the finish before coming home second behind Ryan Blaney, delivering a strong finish after string of unfortunate luck in recent weeks. “I don’t know. We lacked a little bit of fire off, but, honestly, ever since the start of the race we were just mired in so much traffic,” Berry said about what more he needed to catch Blaney. “Our long run seemed really strong, so I think it could have gone a couple different ways. Still, it’s just a great day. We had a great car. Everybody did a great job. The pit stops were awesome and we have a lot to look forward to.”Berry credited the car’s speed and the team’s persistence in bouncing back from the early spin. “It was a grind for sure, but we had a really good car and we just chipped away at it,” he said. “We just kept putting four on it and kept moving forward and did it the old fashioned way. It was a lot of fun.”The runner-up finish gave Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team a much-needed rebound and sets the stage to finish the season on a high note. |
