NASCAR has always been a magnet for the weird and the wild-sometimes in ways nobody could script. From a fan stealing the pace car at Talladega in 1986 to Bobby Isaac famously pulling off the track mid-race after “hearing voices,” the sport’s history is packed with jaw-dropping moments that leave fans and drivers scratching their heads. And then there are the truly eerie tales, like the time Dale Earnhardt Jr. said a ghostly presence pulled him from a burning car at Sonoma in 2004- a story he swears had saved his life.

At the 2025 Talladega race, fans got another gem to add to the bizarre file. It involved rising star Josh Berry, a superspeedway, and… well, let’s just say Mother Nature took a heartbreaking loss. What exactly happened? Buckle up. Because it’s one of the weirdest highlights of the season yet.

Chaos at Talladega: Wins, losses, and an unexpected casualty

The 2025 Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega was a classic superspeedway thriller, with Austin Cindric pulling off a dramatic victory after a nail-biting duel to the finish line. Cindric edged out Ryan Preece by just 0.022 seconds in a photo finish, seemingly securing his first win of the season and the third of his Cup Series career. The race had all the hallmarks of Talladega: high speeds, big packs, and a finish that kept fans on their feet.

But the post-race drama was just getting started. In a stunning twist, both Ryan Preece and Joey Logano were disqualified after failing post-race inspection. Preece for having too many spoiler shims, Logano for a missing spoiler bolt. Their disqualifications shook up the final results, moving Kyle Larson to second and William Byron to third.

Berry, who had originally crossed the line 26th, kept his position after the shakeup. While Berry didn’t get the result he might have wanted, his race was far from uneventful. Late in the event, chaos unfolded on pit road when Berry accidentally made contact with Carson Hocevar’s tire carrier, Jarius Morehead. Thankfully, the crew member was able to walk away.

But it was a tense moment that highlighted just how unpredictable pit road can be, especially at Talladega, where split-second decisions often lead to heart-stopping incidents. However, Josh Berry’s “pit road incident” wasn’t the only bizarre collision on his wild Sunday. Earlier in the race, on Lap 18, to be precise, Berry unwittingly struck a bird while barreling down the front stretch at full speed. 190 MPH, to be precise!

In a flash, what was supposed to be just another lap turned into a bizarre moment. Viewers watching the driver on HBO MAX’s driver dashcam saw the impact from Berry’s perspective. It immediately left broadcasters stunned and fans lighting up social media. Platforms, especially X, were flooded with a wave of memes, jokes, and lighthearted banter that would follow. Read on for some of the most hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt fan reactions to Josh Berry’s very unlucky day.

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Fans find humor in Josh Berry’s bizarre bird incident at Talladega

Josh Berry’s accidental bird strike at Talladega quickly became a viral moment, sparking a wave of humorous fan reactions. One fan joked, “Was it Limu? So that annoying Doug can get off the commercials that is shown every 10 minutes.” This comment was a sarcastic dig at the endless commercials that seem to flood every NASCAR broadcast. While people have openly expressed their frustration over this, NASCAR has continued with them as a necessary part of securing sponsorship dollars and funding broadcast deals.

Another fan, not one to miss a chance at humor, quipped, “Won’t have the guts to do that again.” This joke took a darker, but still lighthearted, turn, riffing on the fact that the bird’s unfortunate demise splattered its guts all over Berry’s car. It was a moment of pure absurdity. And naturally, fans jumped at the chance to joke about how Berry would have to pit to remove the “evidence.” It certainly wasn’t your typical pit stop!

Some fans even tied the moment back to NASCAR history, noting that “Earnhardt did that at Daytona one year ago.” They weren’t wrong. Dale Earnhardt Sr. once struck a seagull during the 1991 Daytona 500 race on lap 2. This incident caused Earnhardt’s car to overheat. And, like Josh Berry, it led to an early and unwanted pit stop for the Intimidator. A case of history repeating itself for Berry!

Then, some fans went outside the NASCAR realm and compared Berry to baseball pitcher Randy Johnson. “The new Randy Johnson,” claimed a fan. In a famous incident, Randy Johnson, pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks in a spring training game, hit a bird mid-flight with a pitch. The ball, a 98 mph fastball, struck and killed the bird, a mourning dove, as it flew towards home plate. The incident, like Josh Berry’s, was caught on camera and became a viral sensation.

These comments showed that even in chaos, NASCAR fans can laugh, joke, and turn an otherwise rough moment into one of the weekend’s most memorable stories.