During this weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race festivities from North Wilkesboro Speedway, Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will be celebrating another historic moment in the history of Wood Brothers Racing.
Berry, with sponsorship from the organization’s multi-year primary sponsor, DEX Imaging, will carry the same colors that Wood Brothers Racing did during the 1996 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, when Michael Waltrip triumphed in the All-Star Race.
1996 vibes.@joshberry will sport a @deximaging throwback at @NWBSpeedway, inspired by the No. 21 car Michael Waltrip drove to an All-Star win in ’96. pic.twitter.com/6F3M0gllku
— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) May 13, 2025
With a fifth-place finish in the All-Star Open, Waltrip and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team were the final transfer into the main event that evening, starting dead last in a field of 20 cars in the main event.
The Owensboro, Kentucky-native shot to the race-lead during the final 20-lap segment of the All-Star Race, leading the final nine circuits around Charlotte Motor Speedway to collect the only victory for the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team in the mid-season exhibition event.
For Michael Waltrip, that victory marked the first of any kind in the NASCAR Cup Series, despite having never won a points-paying event at NASCAR’s top level prior. The future FOX Sports analyst would have to wait another half-decade to win another event in the Cup Series, collecting his first of two DAYTONA 500 victories in 2001.
Now, Berry and Wood Brothers Racing, honoring Waltrip with a throwback paint scheme, will be on the hunt to win another NASCAR All-Star Race, albeit this one at North Wilkesboro Speedway, an iconic racetrack in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, that returned to NASCAR in 2023.
Luckily for Berry, the Hendersonville, Tennessee-native won’t have to advance through the All-Star Open after capturing his first career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I’m excited for this weekend,” Berry said. “It’ll be my third trip to North Wilkesboro. I was fortunate to win the Open race in 2023 in the 48 car and race my way into the big show, which was really cool. This time, knowing you’re already locked in adds a different kind of excitement. I’m looking forward to taking part in more of the actual racing and qualifying, especially with the Pit Crew Challenge. It’s a great opportunity for our crew to go out there and showcase what they can do. With the heat races as well, there’s going to be a lot more on-track time for me, and that just makes the weekend even more fun.”
After 12 NASCAR Cup Series events, Berry currently sits 24th in NASCAR Cup Series point standings, with one victory, two top-fives and three top-10s, including last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway, where the driver of the No. 21 Ford Mustang finished sixth.
It’s the first time that Wood Brothers Racing will appear in the NASCAR All-Star Race since 2021, when Matt DiBenedetto secured the Fan Vote to get the 21st and final starting spot in the field, which took place at Texas Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will take place on Sunday, May 18, with the main event beginning at 8:00 PM ET. Coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
