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Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs advance to All-Star Race after 1-2 finish in Open

JHby:Jonathan Howard•05/21/23•

Jondean25

Josh Berry North Wilkesboro
(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

After a thrilling and drama-filled 100 laps, Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs advance to the All-Star Race after finishing 1-2 in the Open Race. This is what this weekend is all about. Making dreams come true. Now the Super Sub, Berry, and the leading Rookie of the Year candidate, Gibbs, are on to their first NASCAR All-Star Race together.

Once again, Josh Berry is filling in for Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Ally Chevy Camaro. He earned the win in the All-Star Open, but he had to earn it the hard way against Ty Gibbs. These two drivers wanted to get out front to clean air and try to get as far away as possible from the rest of the field.

When the green flag drops and the race for $1,000,000 gets underway, Berry and Gibbs will be in the field with a chance at that money.

This was a quietly fun race! We had some bumping and rubbing on the track. There was a wreck that changed a lot when Noah Gragson hit the inside wall on Turn 1 and turned up the track. It looked like it would be all about Ty Gibbs and Josh Berry. However, Aric Almirola made this a very interesting finish as he turned in some fast laps.

This old pavement is not going to be kind for this All-Star Race. If we thought we had bumping and contact in this Open race, just wait. More contact is coming. After all, $1,000,000 is up for grabs. What wouldn’t you do for a chance at that money?

Josh Berry prevails, moves on to main event

What more can you say about Josh Berry, by the way? This guy comes into the Cup Series this year to replace Chase Elliott. He caps it off with a P2 finish at Richmond. Then he went back to his usual Xfinity Series schedule and performed well. And after that, he got the quick call-up back to the Cup Series to replace Alex Bowman.

When you talk about a super sub, Berry is the definition. This is a guy that will be racing full-time Cup Series races next year potentially and the Hendrick Motorsports organization has him as their own replacement for now. No matter where he ends up, Hendrick will be his first Cup Series home.

As for Ty Gibbs, the rookie was strong in that Open. If Michael McDowell hadn’t been upset with him and tried to take him out of the race, he might have won. The main thing is that Gibbs made it in behind Josh Berry with a second-place finish.

The third and final spot in the All-Star Race was won by Noah Gragson as the fans voted him into the main event. Gibbs and Gragson in the final? I can’t imagine that leading to any drama…