This time it was Josh Berry. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was leading the race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway when chaos broke out at the front of the field. Austin Cindric rocketed to the right after being knocked off balance by a violent impact from behind. He caught the right rear of Berry’s Ford Mustang, sending both drivers crashing down the backstretch.

Despite the introduction of a new air deflector on the right side of the car, the 1,540 kg race car refused to stay on the ground. It overturned, skidded along its roof and slammed nose-first into the inner wall. The car spun like a top on its lid before coming to a stop with its wheels up.

But after being examined and released from the Infield Care Center, Berry was more worried about the missed opportunity than the accident itself.

“It probably wasn’t as bad as it looked,” he told NBC Sports. “Man, I’m disappointed because we had a hell of a night. Just such a great effort from (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and the whole No. 4 team. The car was so strong. We were in position. I’m just really proud of the job I did tonight and really proud of the whole team. We were in the race. That could have been our day, but it didn’t work out.”

Berry won the opening stages of the race and led nine laps before losing the lead. He is still looking for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory, which fellow Ford driver Harrison Burton took in overtime. Berry will replace Burton at the wheel of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in 2025.

Despite the violence of the crash, it was nowhere near as bad as the crash Berry’s teammate Ryan Preece suffered at the same spot on the track a year ago. Preece rolled nearly a dozen times and was left with bruises and bloodshot eyes. Berry was grateful that the backstretch – which was partially grass – was completely repaved before this year’s race.

“Unfortunately we’re seeing a lot of these rollovers lately… obviously paving that section helped save me from a real rollover,” Berry said. “As bad as it looked, they made a big improvement over what Ryan (Preece) had last year. I just can’t believe we knocked over two of our Stewart-Haas cars in a row like that, but it was just a great effort by Rodney and that whole team of four. We were racing all night and had a damn good race car and a chance.”

Berry eventually finished the race in 26th place, retiring on the 158th of 164 laps.