KENLY, N.C. – Josh Berry has won a lot of late model races during his career, but on Sunday he added a new one to his list of accomplishments.
Berry came out on top of the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park despite stiff challenges from a number of drivers, most notably Brenden Queen.
Queen dominated the opening 50-lap stage of the race, earning a $1,500 bonus for being the leader at the end of the first stage. However, Berry was a man on a mission. He took the lead during the second 50-lap stage and earned himself a $1,500 bonus for leading at the end of stage two.
It all came down to stage three and it was Berry in control despite a number of restarts. One such restart with 40 laps left backfired on Berry when he spun his tires on the No. 8 JR Motorsports late model, opening the door for Queen to get around him as Berry fell to third.
It ended up not mattering as Berry simply ran down Queen and retook the lead five laps later. He held the position until the checkered flag, which garnered him $4,000. He also earned a $1,000 bonus for winning the race and one of the stages, bringing his total winnings to $6,500.
Queen settled for second, followed by Doug Barnes, Connor Hall and Deac McCaskill.
The finish:
Josh Berry, Brenden Queen, Doug Barnes, Connor Hall, Deac McCaskill, Andrew Grady, Jonathan Findley, Stacy Puryear, Chris Chapman, Chase Burrow, Blaine Perkins, Trent Barnes, Ryan Matthews, Jody Measamer, Aaron Donnelly, Justin Johnson, Logan Clark, Connor Jones, Terry Carroll, Carter Langley, Daniel Vuncannon, Will Burns, Clay Jones, Cole Bruce, Justin Carroll, Jason Barnes.