Team Penske’s dominance at New Hampshire? Not a secret. With the top three spots filled out by Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Penske affiliate Josh Berry in the qualifying session, it looked like Penske’s race to win. And they did as Ryan Blaney held off a late charge from Josh Berry, securing his third win of the season. His dominance on the 1-mile track put him straight into the Round of 8 of the playoffs. However, Josh Berry suffered a strategic misstep in the closing laps that cost him the victory. And no matter how bittersweet, the Wood Brothers Racing driver still celebrated Blaney’s win.

If you look back a little, you will realize that a runner-up finish didn’t seem likely for Josh Berry in the early stages of Sunday’s Mobil 1 301. In Stage 2, Berry was spun after contact with the front end of Shane Van Gisbergen, dropping the No. 21 Ford in the field and making it look as though a fast car was out of the running. But Berry and his team refused to fold, clawing their way back into contention as the laps wound down. And that’s about his second-place finish.

Reflecting post-race, Josh Berry seemed content with his result. He said, “It was definitely an awesome day. Had a really, really good car. Hats off to Ryan at the end. All of our four cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there. I was honestly surprised. I was a little worried when he got around me as quick as he did, but it seemed like it leveled out, and I was able to keep him honest, at least at the end. All in all, Miles, his whole team did a great job. We were down a set of tires after the spin. So, I think it kind of forced our hand. We didn’t want to take our last rites, at least that early, with that many laps left.”

With the final stage unfolding under a long green flag run, Berry was among the last drivers to pit for fresh tires on lap 241. During the stretch, he stayed close to his Penske-affiliated rivals, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, monitoring their battle for the lead while preparing for a decisive late-race charge. A late caution on lap 255, triggered by a collision between Cody Ware and Austin Dillon, forced a pivotal decision from Berry’s crew chief, Miles Stanley. Opting to prioritize track position rather than pitting, Stanley kept the 34-year-old on the track, temporarily putting him in the race lead. However, older tires only get you thus far, and Blaney, who had pitted for a fresh set of tires, had more race pace on him.

Josh Berry, wanting to keep his nose clean with his teammate, unlike JGR at this track, said with much honesty, “I was going to race him. It’s definitely a tough situation. You’ve got to take care of him. That’s how I try to race, anyway. These restarts and stuff, I try to do the best I can to be smart. It’s tough out there sometimes. I was going to race him hard but clean.

With 39 laps to go, Ryan Blaney used fresher tires to power past Josh Berry for the lead. Despite Berry’s repeated efforts to reclaim the spot, the No. 21 driver finished 0.937 seconds behind. Even so, the second-place result marks a significant turnaround for a team that had struggled through the opening three weeks of the playoffs and was knocked out of the postseason after the Round of 16.

However, this was a slightly disappointing race for Joey Logano. The No. 22 driver started the Mobil 1 301 from the pole, marking his first career pole at this track and the second of the season. He led the race early and secured a Stage 2 victory, but, despite leading 147 laps, Logano finished fourth, behind teammate Ryan Blaney, who led 116 laps. But amid the Goodyear tire testing done on this track, the 35-year-old may have had the upper hand that gave him his pole. However, now he sounds off on it.

Joey Logano delivers his verdict on the tire test at New Hampshire

Logano recently revealed fresh details about the Goodyear tire testing for the NASCAR Cup Series, shedding light on an experimental compound trial at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that Goodyear ultimately opted against using in the playoffs. The two-day test conducted by Goodyear at this track in July featured Joey alongside Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain as they put several new tire builds through their paces. One compound in particular drew attention for its aggressive nature, demanding drivers to be carefully conservative to last even 40 laps, well below NASCAR’s standard expectations for tire life.

Logano explained in the post-race interview: “There was a tire we ran that 40 laps was, you had to manage the tire to make it 40. I like that, right? I mean, you look at what happened at Bristol last week, I think everybody likes it. I mean, as a driver, I thought it was awesome.” 

Logano added, “Pretty risky to do, especially in the playoffs, like if it doesn’t work out, it could be a total fiasco.” Given the razor-thin margins and high stakes of the postseason, Goodyear decided to stick with a safer, proven option. For the playoffs, they went with the D-5254 and D-5256 compounds, tires already tested and validated at Richmond Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and North Wilkesboro Speedway. These choices ensured the competitive lap time fall-off drivers appreciate while maintaining the stability and reliability required for the sport’s most pivotal races. After all, anything to avoid the Bristol chaos, right?