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NASCAR Xfinity regular Josh Berry impressed Hendrick Motorsports with a runner-up finish in the Toyota Owners 400.
Making his fourth substitute appearance for the injured Chase Elliott, Berry drove a brilliant race rising through the field in the #9 Chevrolet. His second-place finish garnered praise from HMS Vice President Jeff Gordon, who applauded his work ethic.
Gordon admitted that Berry has been working hard to extract more pace from the #9 car and stated that his confidence has increased every week. The NASCAR Hall of Famer also praised Berry's ability to adapt to different tracks, pulling double duty each weekend.
Speaking at a post-race press conference in Richmond, he said:
"It's a much different car than what he is used to racing every weekend, and so there's a lot of things that you have to adapt completely different to. I'm not even sure if Saturday is not hurting him for the Sunday races because the cars are so much different. The sidewall, tires, the rear input... Just from me going from an H-pattern transmission to sequential would throw me off."
Gordon added that it was Berry's work ethic that allowed him to approach every weekend with increased confidence. This has improved his results week after week. He said:
"I love his approach, and it's turning into results, which I'm sure it's turning into confidence for him as he continues to go to each track that he is going to be behind the wheel of the car."
Before Berry joined Hendrick Motorsports for his cameo role, he had only two starts in the Cup Series. However, he has shown promising pace after his first outing, where his race was affected by teething issues.
The 32-year-old finished 29th in his first start this season followed by a top-ten finish in Phoenix. An 18th-place finish in Atlanta was followed by a runner-up finish in Richmond, where he beat the other two regular drivers.
Jeff Gordon believes Josh Berry has future in Cup Series
Josh Berry certainly made an impression on Jeff Gordon with a second-place finish at Richmond. The four-time Cup Series winner reckons that Berry will race in the Cup Series in the near future.
Gordon spoke in high regard for the #9 driver, saying:
"Certainly everybody has known his talent watching him in other forms of racing, late models, and the Xfinity Series. You have to put him in other cars with other teams and other people to really see how far he could take it. I think he's got a future in the Cup Series."
