Denny Hamlin: Josh Berry win at Las Vegas came 'out of the blue'

Josh Berry shocked the NASCAR world by notching his first career Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the weekend. It certainly took Denny Hamlin by surprise, watching the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford end the afternoon on top on Sin City.

It was a phenomenal achievement, and Berry’s performance thus far in 2025 has been something to write home about, as he’s truly leveled up. During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin took some time to evaluate Berry’s win and where he stands in the Cup Series at the moment, and it’s evident the Henderson, Tennessee native is earning the veteran’s respect.

“It is. It should be, for all of us, right? I mean, was it out of the blue? Yeah. Sort of. I mean, he had a strong run last week in Phoenix. He’s the real deal,” Hamlin stated, regarding whether Berry’s win came as a surprise. “I mean, somewhere, Kelly Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr. — all those that had kind of invested in him and believed in him and gave him the opportunity when he didn’t bring his own money, are rejoicing. As they should.

“I was a skeptic of Josh Berry at times. Not of his talent, but of, you know — he was, in my opinion, cut from the same mold that as I was. We came from the same background I mentioned a few times even in the Xfinity Series. I’m like, ‘Man, he’s never the fastest in the Xfinity Series.’ He wins a few races, but you know, Justin Allgaier and those guys, they were always faster than him. I was concerned when he came to Cup — is he going to be fast enough to really to run with the best?

“You know, I thought he had some pretty decent races at Stewart-Haas. You just never know what they had, or what they really had or what they didn’t. Ut wasn’t great. But we talked about the off-season moves here over the winter, did we think this that the No. 21 was going to be an improvement? No. I’m shocked.”

After a couple of seasons in the doldrums with Harrison Burton behind the wheel, sans a win during last summer’s race at Daytona International Speedway, the Wood Brothers seem to have struck gold with Berry. He’s been an incredible fit, and they only seem to be scratching the surface of what they could accomplish.

Denny Hamlin is taking notice, and so is the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series. Josh Berry is giving them no choice, and more wins could be on the horizon for the 34-year old in 2025.