“It’s always fun to come back here and race,” Josh Berry said a few days ago. He was referring to his return to short track racing by competing in the 25th Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park. The current NASCAR Cup Series driver won the prestigious race earlier in 2021 and 2022. However, his attempts to replicate that glory in 2025 did not end so well.

Josh Berry qualified for the 3rd-place starting spot for the race, doing a qualifying lap of 15.369 around the .4-mile in Lucama, North Carolina. However, the climactic twists of the race were jaw-dropping. The driver who qualified last ended up winning, and also ousting Berry from the results.

Josh Berry loses all credit for a good race

Teaming up with Tom Usry Racing to compete in the Thanksgiving Classic, Josh Berry aimed to win the race. However, he fell short of his target, finishing runner-up as Doug Barnes went ahead and clinched the victory. However, Berry and his team protested Barnes’ win, for unclear reasons. Yet the authorities listened to Barnes’ counter-protest instead. Short Track Scene wrote on X: “The Tom Usry Racing No. 17 Josh Berry drove to P2 in the Thanksgiving Classic was disqualified. They were protested by winner Doug Barners, after they protested Barnes. Barnes is still being torn down and the results are not yet confirmed.”

In response, Josh Berry’s team issued an obliging yet disappointed note to fans. “After the conclusion of tonight’s protest, we would like to extend our deepest apologies to our sponsors, crew members, and fans. The ruling found our team to be outside the guidelines due to a specific part that has been inspected numerous times this season by multiple tracks and multiple officials – and has never previously been identified as being outside of NASCAR NASCAR-sanctioned rule book. While we are disappointed, we fully respect and accept the decision.”

With a fresh disqualification in his hands, Josh Berry’s short-track racing plans took a blow. The NASCAR star’s day took blows before as well, with a number of missteps plaguing his race. During a restart, Berry missed the clutch shift from second to third gear. Then, a late-race spin due to contact from Lee Pulliam on a restart also axed his pace.

Overall, Josh Berry had a lamentable day. He said, “The first one, honestly, I think I didn’t use the clutch. I’ve had trouble from going to Cup cars, Xfinity cars, to coming back here, and I think I just spaced out, made a mental mistake there. Just didn’t use the clutch, didn’t get it in fourth, I tore up some cars there. That was pretty embarrassing, but after that, it was fine. The restart with Lee, honestly, I don’t really know. I haven’t seen obviously, but felt like clear down.”

Just like Josh Berry, other NASCAR stars are gearing up to test their mettle in short track racing.

An active off-season is coming up

The NASCAR championship weekend concluded almost a month ago. Now, the stock car racing series is looking forward to a rich off-season, highlighted by a prestigious short track racing event. That is the Snowball Derby, which will unfold at the Five Flags Speedway. This Super Late Model race features top names from across the country to go head-to-head in exciting racing. Past winners of the 300-lap race include NASCAR veterans like Butch Miller, Ted Musgrave, and Johanna Long. The list also includes Pete Hamilton, Donnie Allison, and Darrell Waltrip, who won in that order from 1974 to 1976.

For the 2026 iteration, three former winners and a short-track racing legend from the Cup Series will attend the event. Erik Jones returns to attempt to clinch his third snowball derby win. Noah Gragson won in 2018 and hopes to recover from a 19th-place finish in the 2024 event. Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup champion, won the Derby eight years apart (2009 and 2017). The veteran hopes to repeat in his return to the derby. Last but not least, Ryan Preece, a short-track racing legend in the modified circuit, will also be there.

With such an eclectic line-up, we cannot wait to see how the upcoming short-track racing event will turn out. Meanwhile, Josh Berry has work to do to gear up for the future.