Josh Berry left Myrtle Beach Speedway on November 19, 2016 extremely disappointed and bitter at the way he missed a chance to add his name to the list of drivers who had won the prestigious Myrtle Beach 400. Berry had passed Lee Pulliam with less than 10 laps to go, but was unable to hold off his teammate Christian Eckes, who raced Berry aggressively for the victory, and edged him to the finish line in a drag race.
Berry returned to Myrtle Beach Saturday evening determined to prove to the Late Model community that he belonged in victory lane after narrowly missing the opportunity to win in last year’s race. Berry delivered on his promise by sitting on pole with a blistering time of 20.400, and proceeded to back up that strong run by taking the checkered flag first in the 25th annual Myrtle Beach 400, successfully avenging his loss from 2016.
“I learned a hard lesson last year,” Berry said in victory lane. “We made some good adjustments at the halfway break, and we were able to make the car a little bit better, and we kept ourselves in it. We were fast when it counted there at the end.”
Despite setting the pace early in the day, Berry’s night did not get off to a fast start, as he lost the lead early on to fellow competitor Jake Crum. Berry would also end up losing ground early on to drivers who were able to utilize the high line throughout the evening, with one of the drivers being David Roberts, who passed Berry for second not long after losing the lead, and was able to take the lead of Crum a few laps later.
A good portion of the 2017 Myrtle Beach 400 featured a great battle for the lead between Crum and Roberts, with the latter going on to lead the most laps in the race. Roberts continued to work the high side of the racetrack, while Crum was able to find grip on the bottom, which allowed both drivers to battle each other for the lead throughout the entire night. Clean air did not prove to be a big advantage for either driver, as any gap one driver obtained over the other was erased over the span of a few laps.
The complexion of the 2017 Myrtle Beach 400 quickly changed as the race entered its closing stages, which created an opportunity for Josh Berry to contend for the win. A bad restart by David Roberts relegated him to the sixth position with less than 30 laps remaining, which temporarily handed Crum the lead. However, Crum was being pursued by Chad McCumbee, as well as 2017 Myrtle Beach Late Model champion Lee Pulliam, who had been quietly racing Berry and Timothy Peters for positions in the Top 10 all evening.
After racing Crum hard for several laps, Pulliam was able to take the lead with 24 to go, but was subsequently hit by Crum going into Turn 1, which caused Pulliam’s car to do a half-spin and bring out the caution. Both Pulliam and Crum were sent to the rear of the field following the accident, and on the ensuing restart, a chain reaction crash caused Crum to hit Pulliam in the rear end, which caused heavy damage to both cars, ending both of their nights. Pulliam climbed out of his car and expressed his frustration towards Crum, but both drivers were restrained before further conflict broke out.
With Pulliam and Crum out of the race, Berry found himself in third on the following restart with Peters and McCumbee on the front row. After two laps of green flag racing, the caution was brought out one more time when Roberts lost control of his car coming off Turn 4, which later turned into a red flag when Cole Glasson and Brandon Pierce made heavy contact under the caution period. The final restart of the evening would see McCumbee and Peters sharing the front row once again, but Berry lined up behind McCumbee with a perfect opportunity to seize the victory.
Peters quickly made short work of McCumbee once the race returned to green flag conditions, but Berry followed Peters closely, and managed to track him down for the race lead. With 16 laps to go, Berry pulled alongside Peters and muscled his way to the front of the field by using the low side of the racetrack, and began to pull away from the rest of the field. Peters was unable to mount a challenge against Berry, who was able to redeem himself from the previous year’s misfortunes by winning the 2017 Myrtle Beach 400.
Berry stated in victory lane that one of the strategies he used to stay up at the front early on was to race side by side with fellow competitor Lee Pulliam in the early portions of the race. Berry believes that the conservative approach to the race helped pay dividends for him when it came time to race Peters for the victory.
“It wasn’t initially the plan to race Pulliam side-by-side, but after we started doing it, it kind of ended up being the plan, and Timothy and Lee ended up doing the same thing,” Berry said. “Last year I lost this race because I spent too much time racing, but this time I was able to sit back and watch them run side-by-side and capitalize at the end. The hard lesson from last year made this year that much sweeter.”
Berry’s victory in the Myrtle Beach 400 adds another chapter to what has been a stellar 2017 season for him. Berry collected four wins in the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour during its 2017 season, which he capped off by clinching his first CARS Tour championship at South Boston Speedway after points leader Layne Riggs encountered mechanical issues early in the event. Berry praised his team for all of the hard work they put into his car over the course of the year, and expressed excitement and relief at finally winning the Myrtle Beach 400.
“We’ve had a great season with the CARS Tour for sure,” Berry said. “However, tonight was about redemption for myself and all these guys. JR Motorsports has won the last two years down here, and I’m just glad that I was able to get it done tonight for them.”
Timothy Peters, who had hoped to claim victories in both the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 and Myrtle Beach 400 this season, was forced to settle for second, while Chad McCumbee managed to bring home his #16 Late Model in third. Brenden Queen and Sam Mayer, who both had to race their way in through the heat races, and who both encountered struggles throughout the race, brought their cars home in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Unofficial Results for the 2017 Myrtle Beach 400:
1. 88b Josh Berry
2. 12p Timothy Peters
3. 16m Chad McCumbee
4. 03 Brenden Queen
5. 41 Sam Mayer
6. 27 Tommy Lemons Jr.
7. 2s Myatt Snider
8. 02 Justin Milliken
9. 00 Shane Lee
10. 18g Ty Gibbs
11. 15 Ryan Millington
12. 97 Greg Edwards
13. 12g Trey Gibson
14. 7 Justin Crider
15. 26 Peyton Sellers
16. 44 Justin Johnson
17. 18r David Roberts
18. 25 Kevin Leicht
19. 61 Justin Hicks
20. 30 Brian Vause
21. 60 RA Brown
22. 1 Michael Faulk
23. 36 Neil Meredith
24. 70 Stuart Ricks
25. 16h Colby Howard -1
26. 23 Dexter Canipe Jr. -1
27. 11w Lucas Williams -1
28. 24b Blaise Brinkley -2
29. 88p Charles Powell III -2
30. 51 Matt Cox- 10
31. 46 Thad Moffitt -13
32. 51 Blair Addis OUT
33. 5g Cole Glasson OUT
34. 2p Brandon Pierce OUT
35. 01 Jake Crum OUT
36. 5p Lee Pulliam OUT
37. 17b Bryant Barnhill OUT
38. 98 Stefan Parsons OUT
39. 8a Anthony Alfredo OUT
40. 99 Layne Riggs OUT
41. 63 Chris Throckmorton OUT
42. 8h Tyler Hughes OUT
43. 83 Jeremy McDowell OUT
