Josh Berry looking to be latest driver to grab walk-off win, playoff berth at Richmond

There might be four races remaining in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, but Josh Berry is likely focused on one of them a little more than the others.

A win for Berry at the Richmond Raceway would catapult him into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but he wouldn't be the first driver to clinch a postseason berth with a massive win at Richmond. In 2004, it was Jeremy Mayfield who broke through for a huge win that clinched him a spot in the inaugural Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.

As a short-track ace, the 0.75-mile track plays right into Berry's wheelhouse. Berry's racing background consists of lots of late-model racing, and he got his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway in 2021.

The 33-year-old from Hendersonville, Tenn. has put together a solid rookie season — it caught the attention of the Wood Brothers, who signed Berry for 2025 — but to nobody's surprise, the short tracks have been where his talent has fully been able to shine through.

After four straight finishes of 20th or worse to begin the season, the high-banked half mile of Bristol saw Berry earn a then-season-best finish of 12th. After qualifying second, Berry led 25 laps in a race that turned out to be a battle of tire preservation. His inexperience led him to fall through the field in Stage 3, but it was still a showing to be proud of.

At Richmond's first date on the calendar on Easter Sunday, Berry led two laps and improved on his season-best finish with an 11th-place effort. The Monster Mile of Dover brought a 14th-place result, and while not short tracks, finishes of third and 10th at Darlington and Charlotte, respectively, proved to the world that Berry was capable of competing in the Cup Series.

The last two short-track races at Iowa and New Hampshire produced finishes of seventh and third, respectively, and it seems that Berry has enough experience at the front to finally contend for his first career win.

With next Sunday's race at Richmond also taking place at night, Berry can rely on his notes from March and the confidence that comes from running at the front of the Cup Series race.

If he's going to make the playoffs, he needs a victory, and while he certainly could win at either Michigan, Daytona or Darlington, Richmond is the one track left on the regular-season schedule that plays completely to Berry's strength.

Yes, Berry's maiden voyage in the Cup Series has been solid so far, but if he wants a standout moment to paste in the scrapbook, a walk-off win at Richmond to clinch a playoff bid — a la Mayfield in 2004 — would easily qualify as a memorable moment and a feel-good story of an underdog breaking through.