Dale Earnhardt Jr. has perfect reaction to Josh Berry winning at Las Vegas

If it wasn’t for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Josh Berry wouldn’t be celebrating in victory lane right now. At least not in the NASCAR Cup Series. Berry would surely still be winning, but he would be racing the short tracks of Tennessee and North Carolina instead.

Thankfully, Dale Jr. saw the talent in Josh Berry years ago. He gave the Tennessee driver a chance. It has only paid off since then.

From winning races in the Xfinity Series to replacing Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman for Hendrick Motorsports to racing for a soon-to-be out-of-business Stewart-Haas and finally, winning for Wood Brothers Racing. That is Berry’s path to today.

With the win, Earnhardt had to post something online. He had a perfect reaction to the win with this classic scene from Rudy. Way to go, Josh Berry, you’ve finally made it.

pic.twitter.com/BkIjDZiu8A

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 16, 2025

Josh Berry raced for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at JR Motorsports. During that time, Earnhardt advocated for Berry and his talents. He is an example of how many short track racers are out there with Cup Series potential who just need a chance.

With the chances that Berry has received in his career, he has capitalized. He won the NASCAR Weekly Series championship. He is now the first champion of that series to win a Cup Series race. Perhaps he is opening and path for others to do the same.

While Earnhardt is no longer Berry’s team owner, he deserves to feel a part of this win. Without him, who knows where Berry would end up in his racing career, how far he would have gone. Good thing is, we’ll never know.

Josh Berry proves Dale Earnhardt Jr. right time and again

Every time that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has gone to bat for Josh Berry, he has been proven right. It is a testament to how the JR Motorsports late model program can produce legitimate NASCAR talent. Remember that as Carson Kvapil continues to impress in the Xfinity Series.

You also can’t discount the role the CARS Tour played in this. That is a series that is developing future NASCAR talent just as much as the ARCA/Truck/Xfinity Series.

What you can’t help but notice about Josh Berry is his maturity. Yes, he’s 34. But he hasn’t been in NASCAR that long. He barely has more than 50 starts in the Cup Series. Yet today when he won it was like he had done it a dozen times before. He’s already acting like he’s been there and it’s his first career win.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. deserves a lot of thanks from NASCAR fans and especially the Wood Brothers. He introduced Josh Berry to the sport and he is now a winner in the Cup Series.