Berry earns his spot in the Clash with LCQ win at Bowman Gray Stadium

Josh Berry advanced into the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium with another top-two performance in the Last Chance Qualifier race, but this time, he won it.

Berry took control of the Wednesday evening race for the final time on lap 17 and led to the finish. The driver of the No. 21 Ford started on the pole but ran the first few laps in second place when Michel McDowell jumped the start and took the lead. McDowell, however, was penalized under the first and only caution on lap six and sent to the rear of the field.

Berry then briefly lost the lead to AJ Allmendinger on the ensuing restart before regaining the top spot.

“I feel good about it,” said Berry of his car. “Honestly, we just struggled a little bit on the restarts, cold temperatures, locking the left-front there, and got it locked up a little bit under AJ (Allmendinger) and washed him out, but once we were able to settle in and get some heat in the tires, I felt good about our car. I think we can make a few small adjustments and make it a little bit better, but obviously, you don’t have great track position starting in the back. It’s a long night when you don’t make this race, so I’m glad we were able to put both of our cars in.”

Austin Cindric finished second to also advance into the main event. The final transfer spot came down to the final lap between Cindric, Corey LaJoie and Allmendinger.

Cindric and LaJoie spent the final 11 laps trading positions, using the bumper and running side-by-side around the quarter-mile track. On the last lap, Cindric was underneath LaJoie when Allmendinger ran into the back of Cindric in Turn 3. The contact sent Cindric further up the track toward LaJoie, but he was able to regroup and make the checkered flag.

“That was about as fair as I think that could have gotten for an LCQ,” Cindric said. “I appreciate Corey racing hard and obviously, we advanced in. A long road ahead, starting last with some scuffs for the final here. But happy to get the Freightliner Mustang in the show and enjoy round two here at Bowman Gray. This is a very cool place.

“I was happy with how the car held on for a long run; kind of had to save my stuff after I got punted out of the way there early. It seemed to play out reasonably well; glad it went as long as it did and it was fun. A good way to get started.”

LaJoie finished third, driving for RFK Racing. He was substituting for Brad Keselowski, who is recovering from a broken femur. Allmendinger finished fourth. John Hunter Nemechek finished fifth.

All three failed to advance. Others who failed to advance into the Clash include Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, McDowell, Cole Custer and Todd Gilliland.

In addition to Berry and Cindric transferring into the Clash, the final spot went to Alex Bowman. Bowman knew going into the LCQ that he would advance as the highest driver from the 2025 championship standings who had not locked in through qualifying. As such, he played it safe at the rear of the field and finished 17th.

The full field for the Clash:

1.     Kyle Larson

2.     William Byron

3.     Ty Gibbs

4.     Chase Briscoe

5.     Christopher Bell

6.     Denny Hamlin

7.     Bubba Wallace

8.     Chris Buescher

9.     Ross Chastain

10.  Tyler Reddick

11.  Chase Elliott

12.  Carson Hocevar

13.  Kyle Busch

14.  Joey Logano

15.  Austin Dillon

16.  Ryan Blaney

17.  Shane van Gisbergen

18.  Ryan Preece

19.  Connor Zilisch

20.  Daniel Suarez

21.  Josh Berry

22.  Austin Cindric

23.  Alex Bowman

Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports won the inaugural Clash event at Bowman Gray Stadium.