28-04-2025
Watch NASCAR driver's terrifying 190mph run-in with a flying bird at Talladega
Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama is famous for being one of the fastest tracks in all of NASCAR. So sadly, that means any wildlife that interacts with those cars will likely turn into mist.
That was the case at this Sunday's Jack Links 500 at one of the most popular tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit.
It was early in the race when, on lap 18, Josh Berry was driving his Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford machine.
As Berry was cruising along at a speed between 180-190mph on the front straight of the track, he drove straight into a flying bird.
On the driver cam for the race, the bird doesn't even materialize in front of the car. No dark streak indicating life is seen.
Instead, Berry's camera just suddenly has the splatter of a dead animal on his right side windshield.
Josh Berry just hit a bird going like 184mph at Talladega.
— Colin Dunlap (@colin_dunlap) April 27, 2025
No damage was sustained to the car (the same can't be said for the bird) and Berry rolled into pit lane under the first caution for cleaning of his window.
While a rare sight, it was not one that was foreign to Berry's pit crew.
'I've certainly witnessed it before, and they can cause some damage,' Berry's crew chief Miles Stanley told media following the race. 'They can wreak havoc and even shred some windshield tear-offs and things like that.'
He added: 'A lot of times when we come here for like first practice or qualifying and stuff, we'll see birds flying out around the racetrack. So, it's not a huge surprise that we ended up getting one on the windshield.'
After starting in eighth position, Berry ended up finishing 21st in the race.
