Folks, Josh Berry has won the 2025 Pennzoil 400 in a scramble, where all odds lifted him to the podium. The Wood Brothers Racing driver secured his first Cup Series win of his career, a moment that he will treasure for the rest of his life. “I’m just really proud of everybody on this (Wood Brothers) team. This is a great group. They build great race cars and it’s just been a privilege to drive for them. I’m just so really thankful to be here,” he said. Well, what do you expect as a celebration of a driver’s first victory? A Carl Edwards-style ‘Backflip’ or a Kyle Busch-style ‘Bow’?

Well, considering how significant an achievement it was, one would think that the racer would at least perform a burnout at the 1.5-mile track, a tradition that has existed in the world of motorsports for years. However, it seems like the 34-year-old had other plans. Wanting to be true to himself and his racing idols, Berry opted to replicate a celebration that had not been seen since the 2014 Daytona 500.

Josh Berry’s ‘simple’ tribute to absorb the moment

History was made at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Josh Berry raced to the checkered flag at ‘the Diamond of the Desert,’ securing the 101st victory for NASCAR’s oldest team. It was Wood Brothers Racing’s first win on a non-superspeedway track since Ryan Blaney’s memorable triumph at Pocono in 2017, which meant celebrations erupted on the sidelines when the 34-year-old crossed the start-finish line.

Just like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Josh Berry celebrated by driving slowly parallel to the wall while fans cheered on. He then went towards the No. 21 Ford crew, where he finally stopped his car. Revealing the reason for not doing the burnout, he said, “I just wanted to soak in the moment. I think that’s the biggest thing. I could have pulled down there and done a big burnout and got out. But I wanted to enjoy it. I didn’t care how long it took. I wanted to go down there and turn around backwards and just have a moment to reflect on that. Because it’s such a huge accomplishment to win in the Cup Series.”

Revealing where he got the inspiration from, Berry admitted, “Over the course of the offseason, I found myself watching the 2014 Daytona 500 when Dale (Junior) won. He went down to 1, kind of swung around, took his stuff off, and waved it to fans.” It’s only fitting that the Tennessee native is paying tribute to Dale Jr., who was his former employer when Berry drove for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series in 2022 and 2023.

Going into the race, few would have predicted that Josh Berry stood any chance of grabbing a victory. The 34-year-old was a 40-1 underdog at the Pennzoil 400, highlighting the fact that nobody expected his triumph on his 53rd Cup Series start. However, the victory meant that Wood Brothers Racing will now be in the playoffs for the second year running, an impressive streak to say the least. Could he now go on to make a deep playoff run? Only time will tell.

Christopher Bell was prevented from doing a burnout by NASCAR

While Josh Berry opted not to do a burnout, it seems like Christopher Bell had no choice. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was clearly told by NASCAR to curb his post-race celebrations after his triumph at the Circuit of the Americas, a measure that was taken to safeguard the sport’s integrity. The directive was issued after William Byron’s No. 24 Chevy was seen clashing with the wall during a burnout earlier this year, resulting in speculation that it was a measured move to avoid technical scrutiny by NASCAR.

Hoping to avoid controversy and not willing to take any chances, NASCAR officials informed the No. 20 Toyota team that burnouts wouldn’t be permitted on the road course. The news was confirmed by FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, who first tweeted, “Bell is told not to burn out up against the wall.” The journalist later clarified the situation by going on to write on X, “Let me clarify … it sounds like the spotter was relaying a message from NASCAR not to do the burnout up against the wall.”

While William Byron later clarified that his car slamming into the wall was only because he was “clumsy”, the allegations of cheating did not subside. Perhaps Josh Berry, who won his first-ever Cup Series race, was taking more precautions than necessary at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by not doing a burnout. After all, who would want to risk a memorable race win simply to do a ‘traditional celebration’? Even though no such directive was issued towards the Wood Brothers Racing driver, the 34-year-old was adopting the ‘rather safe than sorry’ approach in Las Vegas.