by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Josh Berry picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 presented by Advance Auto Parts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his #15 Klutch Vodka Ford was collected in a multi-car accident which prevented him from completing any of the 100 laps.

The finish occurred in Berry’s 97th series start. In the XFINITY Series rankings, it was the 12th for the #15, the 171st for Ford, and the 397th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 51st for the #15, the 1,042nd for Ford, and the 1,386th from a crash.

One year after continuing his role as the Cup Series’ “super sub,” driving in relief of Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Noah Gragson, Berry’s schedule remains as demanding as it’s ever been. With standout runs for Stewart-Haas Racing on the eve of its impending closure, he’s since landed Harrison Burton’s ride at the Wood Brothers for 2025, and also been called upon to drive for AM Racing in the XFINITY Series. The AM team hired Hailie Deegan to attempt her own rookie campaign, but after multiple mechanical failures and on-track incidents, the two parted ways. The final straw was Joey Logano’s 8th-place finish in a one-off start on the Chicago Street Course, which was followed by Berry’s first start with the team at Pocono, taking 27th. It was Berry’s first XFINITY start since he closed out his final year with JR Motorsports last fall at Phoenix.

Prior to this weekend, Berry was one of the many drivers to have never raced on the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis. He’d twice competed on the track’s Grand Prix Circuit, finishing 14th in the XFINITY Series races in both 2022 and 2023. This time, he’d pull double-duty with the Cup Series. On the Cup side, Berry ranked 13th in practice, but qualified just 37th for his first Brickyard 400. Things looked better on the XFINITY side, where he placed 7th in practice and qualified a strong 10th with a lap of 54.186 seconds (166.095mph).

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Parker Kligerman, who after ranking 2nd behind Chandler Smith in practice smacked the wall with the right-rear in qualifying, forcing him back to the pits without a timed lap. Repairs required unapproved adjustments, incurring him a redundant tail-end penalty. Also sent back were 12th-place Sheldon Creed for an engine change on his #18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota, plus 14th-place starter Austin Hill, whose #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet required adjustments.

When the green flag dropped, Kligerman had climbed to 36th, 2.792 seconds back of the lead with the penalized Hill ahead of him in 34th (2.653) and Creed in 32nd (2.384). Between them based on intervals were 33rd-place B.J. McLeod in Carl Long’s #13 Falling In Reverse Chevrolet and 35th-place Joey Gase in the #35 Bell Helmets Chevrolet. The last spot now belonged to Greg Van Alst, whose #07 CB Fabricating Chevrolet fell behind the penalized drivers along with his SS-Green Light Racing teammate David Starr, who secured last-minute sponsorship from Beyond Landscaping for the blank hood of his #14 Ford. Van Alst was scored 3.141 seconds back of the leader to Starr’s 3.054.

Further ahead, as the field entered Turn 3, A.J. Allmendinger in the #16 Celsius Chevrolet got to the outside of Sam Mayer’s #1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet in what was a battle for the 6th spot. Just past corner entry, the two banged doors, hooking Mayer’s car to the left directly into oncoming traffic. As Allmendinger backed off in the high lane, the low lane to his left stacked up, where Berry was third in line behind Chandler Smith’s #81 QuickTie Toyota and Justin Allgaier’s #7 Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet. Berry got in the back of Smith, then was rear-ended by Jeremy Clements in the #51 Wings Etc. Grill & Pub Chevrolet, sending Berry into the side of Mayer as both careened into the outside wall. As more cars stacked up behind Clements, both Berry and Mayer skated back down the banking, where Berry clipped a passing Sammy Smith in the door of his #8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet before coming to rest against Mayer’s car. As Berry climbed from his car, Mayer made it back to pit road to Stall 22, just short of the yard of bricks, where he too climbed out. Scoring on Lap 2 briefly showed Sammy Smith in last before Berry took it with Mayer in 37th.

Later in the race, both B.J. McLeod’s #13 and Joey Gase’s #35 were seen with the distinctive white rims from AM Racing, seeming to indicate what happened to Berry’s unused tires.

The Bottom Five was completed by a pileup on Lap 84 caused when Daniel Dye’s #10 Black Widow Trucks Chevrolet forced Anthony Alfredo’s #5 Dude Mint Chill Chevrolet into the wall in Turn 1. Alfredo limped through Turn 2, but couldn’t keep his car against the wall and drove into traffic, where he was rear-ended by the drafting Parker Retzlaff in the #31 Funkaway Chevrolet and Josh Williams in the #11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet. All three crashed hard with Williams veering into the outside wall while Alfredo struck the inside barrier. All three drivers were checked and released without serious injury. Dye continued without serious damage and finished 7th, besting his career-best mark of 10th at Iowa with his second career top-ten finish. Chandler Smith, whose #81 went behind the wall around Lap 24, returned to the track and climbed from 36th to 33rd, escaping the Bottom Five.

Newcomers of various disciplines earn strong runs at Indy

After three wins this season on the road courses, Shane van Gisbergen finished a tremendous 4th, his #97 WeatherTech Chevrolet within shouting distance of the three-car battle for the win. This was his best finish on an oval since Phoenix, where he took 6th, and his second-best on an oval all year, trailing only his 3rd-place showing in Atlanta.

Carson Kvapil continued a series of impressive runs for JR Motorsports’ “all-star” #88 entry with a 10th-place finish, already his third Top Five and fourth Top Ten in just six career starts.

Both Jesse Love and Conor Daly suffered damage in the opening-lap tangle, but each recovered nicely. Love took home 13th with much of the right-front bodywork missing from his #2 Whelen / NLEOMF Chevrolet while Daly finished right behind him in 14th with fender damage of his own to the #26 Polkadot Toyota. This was just the third series start for Daly, who in the previous two had finished no better than 31st.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #15 in a XFINITY Series race since July 4, 2020, when Jeffrey Earnhardt had a track bar issue after 9 laps around the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit. The number hadn’t finished last on the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis since July 23, 2016, when Todd Peck also failed to complete a lap due to a first-lap engine failure.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #15-Josh Berry / 0 laps / crash

37) #1-Sam Mayer / 0 laps / crash

36) #11-Josh Williams / 83 laps / crash

35) #31-Parker Retzlaff / 83 laps / crash

34) #5-Anthony Alfredo / 83 laps / crash

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Joey Gase Motorsports, JR Motorsports (3)

2nd) DGM Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing, SS-Green Light Racing (2)

3rd) Alpha Prime Racing, AM Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kaulig Racing, Mike Harmon Racing, Motorsports Business Management, RSS Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (13)

2nd) Ford (4)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP