Talladega Superspeedway never fails to deliver chaos, but Sunday’s Jack Links 500 served up a different kind of shock. While NASCAR fans geared up for the usual flurry of crashes and dramatic finishes, something far more unexpected stole the limelight- a bird strike in the middle of the race.
Josh Berry, behind the wheel of the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Racing, became part of a freak moment that quickly caught fire online. Flying at nearly 190 miles per hour, Berry’s car collided head-on with a white bird soaring across the track.
The moment, captured in a first-person view from Berry’s car, spread quickly across social media platforms, especially on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A Sudden, Tragic Moment
As Berry battled through the pack at Talladega, he likely never saw the bird until it was too late. The contact happened in a flash, eerily reminding fans of Randy Johnson’s infamous bird incident during a 2001 spring training game. Just like Johnson’s fastball collision with a dove nearly 24 years ago, the bird’s fate on Sunday was sealed in an instant.
A post on X summed it up grimly: “Josh Berry absolutely obliterated a bird at 190MPH.” Although the crash was less explosive than Johnson’s, the footage still left many fans wincing. Watching a living creature meet such a sudden end is never easy, no matter the setting.
Josh Berry absolutely obliterated a bird at 190MPH. #NASCAR #JackLinks500 pic.twitter.com/M1Kau1HSJd
— Scott (@RandomHeroWX) April 27, 2025
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Despite the jarring collision, Berry kept racing but faced issues later in the event. His windshield took a hit, causing visibility problems that contributed to his 28th-place finish. It was a tough break in a race that saw plenty of movement and action up front.
Meanwhile, Austin Cindric came out on top, taking home the checkered flag and celebrating a big Cup Series win. Berry will remember the day more for an unfortunate, one-in-a-million moment than for racing battles.
Talladega always finds a way to throw a curveball, but no one could have predicted Sunday’s bizarre twist. It served as a reminder that at nearly 200 miles per hour, anything can happen — and sometimes, it has nothing to do with the other cars on the track.
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