BRISTOL, Tenn. — Josh Berry entered Saturday night's playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway in a must-win situation, but he did not have the opportunity to pursue this goal due to a fire in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.
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Berry's issue began on Lap 74. He began falling off the pace as flames began appearing behind the right front tire. He slowed and tried to make it back to his pit stall, where he hoped the team could extinguish the blaze. Berry had the intention of continuing in the race
This did not happen. The amount of smoke in the car increased as he slowed, to the point that he could not see. He had to pull to a stop near his pit stall as the team worked to get him pulled out of the cockpit.
There's a problem for @joshberry!
He exits the No. 21 under his own power on Lap 80. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/hGUCz0wjTO
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 14, 2025
"Maybe seven or eight laps before we came down pit road we started getting some smoke in the cockpit, and then the longer I went the darker the smoke got and then, obviously, by the time we got on pit road it was completely black smoke," Berry said at the infield care center.
"Something obviously caught on fire, so probably once again a car burned up for no reason."
This DNF marked the third consecutive playoff race in which Berry finished last in the field. He crashed at both Darlington Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway before the fire at Bristol Motor Speedway ended his playoff run.
Berry did not know the exact cause of the fire in the No. 21 Ford. He guessed that some of the tire rubber got caught up in the brake rotors and set it off.
Ultimately, the reason for the fire did not matter. Berry did not get the chance to pursue a championship due to truly unexpected issues.
"We've qualified well. We've had good cars. We just haven't had the good finishes," Berry said. "That's just part of it. I don't think you could ever script three last-place finishes in the ways that we've gotten them over the last few weeks."
