Tag: Josh Berry

While acknowledging it’s been a disappointing start to his rookie NASCAR Cup Series season, Josh Berry sees a path forward to start getting better results with his Stewart-Haas Racing team.

“It’s just hopefully getting some of these mistakes out of the way early on and start qualifying a little bit better,” Berry said, “and I think we’ll be fine.”

Berry has one top-20 finish through the first four races — which was a 20th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There were no illusions from Berry about what was in store for him when moving into the Cup Series, and he’s repeatedly admitted to those who asked that he expected it to be hard. And it’s turned out to be hard.

But making mistakes hasn’t helped the No. 4 team’s cause. Berry spun in qualifying last weekend at Phoenix Raceway and had to start last at a racetrack where passing is at a premium. The highest Berry has started in four races is 14th, and he hasn’t earned any stage points (through eight stages).

“Each race has been different,” Berry said when asked if mistakes are the biggest thing about his performance behind the wheel. “Daytona, we lost a lap getting spun out on pit road; I don’t really know what I would have done different in that scenario. The Duels, we had an issue with the fuel pump. I had back-to-back speeding penalties at Atlanta, which was silly but just an honest mistake of understanding the car and everything there.

“You can’t have those mistakes. You’ve got to execute each practice session, qualifying session and, to me, I think that’s where I’ve missed it a little bit. I’ve got to clean that stuff up. If we can get our car a little bit better here in different spots of the race, I feel like we can run in the top 15, top 10 pretty easy.”

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Berry sees the potential when everything does come together as it should and the team executes. It’s a matter of doing it consistently and, most importantly, early in the weekend.

“I feel like when our car is balanced and driving pretty good, it’s fast,” Berry said. “The speed is there, so, to me, it’s just about learning how to communicate that, those different pieces, to Rodney (Childers). When I go out to practice at Phoenix and feel like I’m tight, I don’t know how tight I really am. I don’t know what adjustments we need to make exactly, so just learning that and understanding that stuff so I can give him better information is going to be important.

“That starts with practice and qualifying and the start of the race. I feel like the last two weeks are a little bit more of a gauge of where you’re at. We’ve had one bad run in each race where we fell back and lost a lap. Really, if we didn’t have those two runs, our finishes look a lot better.”

Berry backed up his assertion of what needs to be done by the No. 4 team a few hours later by qualifying a career-best second for the Food City 500.

Josh Berry will move into the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2024 as the next driver of the No. 4 Ford Mustang at Stewart-Haas Racing, the team has announced. Berry will take the place of Kevin Harvick, who will retire at the end of this season.

“I can’t imagine a better opportunity for me — to get in a car that’s been as successful and iconic as the No. 4,” Berry said. “Kevin is a future NASCAR Hall of Famer, and it’s going to be a challenge trying to come after someone so successful. But I know I’m going to have an amazing group of people around me, led by Rodney Childers, to where we can hit the ground running.”

Harvick was on hand for the announcement on Wednesday along with Rodney Childers, who will continue to serve as the team’s crew chief.

The No. 4 team was formed in 2014 when Harvick and Childers joined Stewart-Haas Racing. It quickly became one of the most dominant in the series. Harvick and Childers won the series title in 2014 and, to date, have 37-point wins together in the Cup Series.

Harvick is retiring from Cup Series competition after 23 seasons.

“We’re incredibly proud to have Josh Berry begin the next chapter of his racing career in our No. 4 Ford Mustang,” said co-owner Tony Stewart. “Kevin Harvick has obviously set a very high bar, but Josh brings maturity, experience, and, above all, a winning record to Stewart-Haas Racing. He is the right driver, at the right time, for the No. 4 team and our organization.”

Berry’s promotion will come after nearly three full seasons in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports. Berry has five career wins in 76 starts. He finished fourth in the championship standings last season.

Substitutions roles for Hendrick Motorsports earlier this season further pushed Berry into the spotlight. Berry drove the No. 9 for five weeks, earning two top-10 finishes. Among those was a career-best of second at Richmond Raceway. In the No. 48 Chevrolet for three races, Berry picked up another top-10 result.

“Josh Berry has proven himself in the Xfinity Series and this year showed how quickly he can adapt to the cars and the level of competition in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Greg Zipadelli, chief competition officer at SHR, said. “He’ll be a rookie in our race car next year, but he drives like a veteran. He puts in the work to ensure that he’s always ready for the opportunities that come his way, and we’re very happy that his next opportunity is with Stewart-Haas Racing.”

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The Hendersonville, Tennessee native cut his teeth short track racing. Berry is a six-time Legend Cars champion and claimed the CARS late model stock tour championship in 2017 with four wins in 13 races while driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr. In 56 starts in the CARS tour, Berry has 22 wins and is one of the most decorated short-track stars in the country.

“I’m really proud of how I’ve gotten to this point and earned this opportunity,” Berry said. “I don’t like to use the word luck. It’s also been about preparation meeting opportunity. The Xfinity Series win at Martinsville (in 2021) changed my career and allowed us to point toward a full-time season for 2022, where we competed for the championship.

“It’s also been very meaningful to get some opportunities in the Cup Series this year. I’m proud of how they went, but I cannot wait to drive a Cup car that’s got my name on it.”

Harvick is a fan of short-track racing, and his successor at Stewart-Haas Racing.

“Late model racing is where I came from, and I think it’s the best place to learn and prepare to eventually race in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Harvick said. “Josh is a really good example, and probably the best and most recent example, of applying all that he’s learned in late models to what he’s doing in the Xfinity Series.

“Winning the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship and the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series championship requires a lot of skill and an equal amount of determination. Josh did both and won a lot of races along the way. That experience allowed him to be fast and successful right off the bat when he got to the Xfinity Series, and when he had his opportunities to race in the Cup Series earlier this year, he again showed speed and an ability to race at the front.”

Childers has called over 600 races as a Cup Series crew chief, dating back to the 2005 season. The 2024 season will be his 11th overseeing the No. 4 team.

“I think one of the many things that’s made Kevin and I work so well together is our history in late model racing and our respect for it,” said Childers. “Late model racing is a really great proving ground, and Josh showed that he was the best of the best when it came to pavement late model racing. And when he got to the Xfinity Series, he kept on winning. To be the guy who will help Josh get his first Cup win is something I’m really looking forward to.”