BRISTOL, Tenn. — Josh Berry enters the elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway last in the playoff standings after a nightmare start to the Round of 16. He and the No. 21 team have every right to be angry, but that isn't the mood at the shop.
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They have some frustration for sure, but they also have optimism despite back-to-back last-place finishes.
"I mean, everybody is disappointed for sure, but what can you do, really," Berry said in response to a question from FanBuzz on Friday. "...All of us, a lot of us in this industry have been doing this stuff a long time.
"There's highs and lows and you just have to be able to stay in-between and manage it the best you can. I try to do a pretty good job of that and at the end of the day, no matter where you run the week before, you go to work on Monday and get ready for the next race."
The first two races of the playoffs featured issues for Berry and Wood Brothers Racing. They qualified third at Darlington Raceway, but Berry spun on the opening lap of the race. He spent extensive time in the garage before finishing more than 120 laps behind the leaders after what he called a self-inflicted mistake.
Photo credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography
One week later Berry qualified 12th at World Wide Technology Raceway. He crashed on Lap 35 after contact from Chase Elliott, which dropped him to 45 points below the cutline heading to Bristol Motor Speedway.
"Now, if we want to advance to the next round we need to win, but we could lead 400 laps Saturday night and blow an engine or have a flat tire and I don't think any of us on Monday would be disappointed, but we wouldn't be disappointed in how we ran," Berry said.
"The biggest thing is we just need to run well and be in contention on Saturday night and see what happens from there."
Berry struggled during practice at Bristol on Friday. He ended the session with the 38th-fastest time. However, he bounced back during qualifying and posted the 10th-fastest lap.
This sets him up to potentially get stage points early and try to avoid calamity as other playoff drivers try to push through the field early.
As every playoff driver says, qualifying well doesn't mean that Berry will automatically be in contention for the all-important win that would turn his playoffs around. He and his team just have to perform perfectly to put themselves in position.
"It's hard to win these races," Berry said. "You don't go into them expecting to win, but I expect to have a good car and hopefully be in contention and if we execute and give ourselves that opportunity, hopefully we can capitalize on it."
