Josh Berry 1-on-1: On replacing Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 car, uncertain 2025 plans

NASCAR Cup Series

Published Jun. 27, 2024 1:31 p.m. ET

A year ago, Josh Berry felt the most stability he ever had in his career with a two-year deal to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing as the replacement for the retiring Kevin Harvick.

The JR Motorsports driver would become a rare 33-year-old Cup rookie in 2024. Championed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a long-time late model driver who won five Xfinity races in 55 starts in 2021-22, Berry became the driver that those who race at local tracks and regional late model series looked to as someone who “made it.”

He drove in 10 Cup races in 2023 — five as a replacement for an injured Chase Elliott, three for an injured Alex Bowman and then two for Legacy Motor Club after the release of Noah Gragson — amid a winless Xfinity season driving for JRM.

But 2024 didn’t start as planned. Berry had two top-20 finishes (and no top-10s) in the first nine Cup races. And rumors began to swirl that SHR would close at the end of the season, a rumor that for the most part came true in late May when Berry learned he was out of a ride for 2025.

Amid the turmoil, Berry has thrived. He has four top-10s and just two finishes outside 16th in the last nine races. He has moved to 19th in the Cup standings. And contract talks for a 2025 ride appear to be going well, with the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 ride and one of the Front Row Motorsports open seats the main possibilities.

Berry heads to his home state of Tennessee for this weekend’s race at Nashville Superspeedway. He sat down with FOX Sports last week at New Hampshire to talk about the season and his career:

What’s the difference if you look at the last two months than the first two months?

I think just time for us to work together and get an understanding of what I want from the car and how that compares to what Kevin had last year and [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] had last year. It’s just taken a little time to get there. Even early in the year, I feel like we showed potential in some of those races. We might have had a bad run here or there, but I thought we were making the right adjustments and making our car faster. Now we’re just getting a better understanding of everything and unloading faster and then getting better throughout the race.

Do you still have family in Tennessee? Is there a big Josh Berry contingent coming to Nashville?

It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out for sure. I’m definitely excited to get back there to the superspeedway and race at the [Nashville] Fairgrounds [today] in a late model. I’m excited to get back there. It’s definitely my home track. I’m excited to see how we run there. Kevin had a really good race going there last year, and I think we can continue that into this year.

When you are around the family, are they going to ask you what are you doing next year? Or do they leave you alone on that kind of stuff?

They’ll probably ask. Yeah, they’ll probably ask.

So is that stressful?

It’s kind of part of it. I can’t say I really saw this coming when — I think it was this week, we announced it a year ago that I was going to drive the 4 [car]. It’s been interesting times for sure. We’ve really been running well the last couple of months and that’s made it a lot easier for me.

It sounds like you have some opportunities potentially for next year. Do you feel good about being in this Cup garage?

Yeah, I feel pretty good about being in this garage. Obviously, we’re still finalizing everything and working through it all. But I feel pretty good about being in this garage next year.

Is there any part of you like, “Heck, I didn’t know if I was going to be in this garage so to go through this, it’s better than not going through it and not ever being in here?”

For sure. It’s definitely been interesting times. But I think in these moments, you find out more about yourself and what you’re capable of and what your mindset is. I think back to running the HMS [Hendrick] car last year. I’m racing for my career. That was a huge opportunity for me, and I thought we had some pretty good results in there. And I think now we’re seeing that again with the [No.] 4 team and that’s just been a big confidence boost for me. It’s been a lot of fun racing. I feel more confident than I’ve ever been. I think that I have a place in this sport on Sundays, and we just have to keep working to make that happen.

Is it harder on your wife and family than it is on you or do you all kind of live the ups and downs?

We’ve been a part of this together for a long time. We started this late model racing on Saturday nights and never really felt like we would be at this point. I really thought I would be a career short-track racer for a long time. Just a lot of things worked out in my favor. I’ve got so many people along the way that have helped get me opportunities and given me opportunities — and I’ve made the most of them, too. It’s been a ride, but we’re going through it together and it’ll be fine.

Late model racing is expensive. It’s a little bit of business, but this seems to be more of a business. Has it been fun for you?

Yeah. This year has been a lot of fun, honestly. Working with these guys and Rodney has been just such an amazing experience from the start. I’m so thankful I got to race with these guys — and to start to have some success like we’ve had, it’s been really fun. There’s been a lot made of everything that’s happened this year, but I’m incredibly thankful for Tony [Stewart] and Gene [Haas] giving me an opportunity to drive the 4 car, to come in this situation that Kevin stepped away from. That’s a big opportunity. It’s taken some time, but it’s gone pretty well.

When you talk about stepping into what Kevin had, how did you balance trying to be like, “Well, if Kevin can drive this, I should be able to drive it” versus what my style and Rodney having to adjust as well?

It’s been a combination of both. I learned a lot about the Next Gen car in my time at HMS being around those guys, being around Kyle [Larson] and Chase, William [Byron], Alex, all those guys. I got a really crash course on a lot of the mindset and what they were working on and what they were thinking. Honestly, that’s part of the transition that we’ve had here — we here guys talk, you hear Denny [Hamlin] talk about all the time, about how the car wants to be drove and what it wants and I feel like I have a good understanding of that through my time there. Now pairing that with Rodney and us working together and figuring that out, that’s where the speed has started to show. They do a really good job, and I think we’re communicating really well and that’s helping it all, too.

How different is driving this car versus driving a late model?

Honestly, on the short-track side of things, the Next Gen car reminds me a lot of a late model — how you kind of hustle it around and kind of manipulate the car a little bit here or there reminds me a lot of a late model. The intermediate tracks are obviously different — they’re high commitment, a lot of throttle, probably more like what a truck is and learning that and adapting to all that is where we’ve gotten better and better.

What would you tell yourself a year ago when you were sitting there on the stage if you knew this was going to happen?

I wouldn’t change a thing, honestly. I would do this all over again even if I knew the outcome. The opportunity to come here and race at Stewart-Haas has been amazing, and everybody there has been so amazing to deal with and work with. Obviously, Rodney and this 4 team, this is a great group and they’re a top-notch group and I wouldn’t trade anything even if I knew it was closing down and then reopening [with one car as Haas Factory team] and whatever — if knew all that, I would still do it because it’s just been that good of an opportunity.

Before this opportunity, it was Dale Jr. who gave you an opportunity. What was that whole experience been like for you to be the guy that Dale Jr. championed to get to Cup?

He’s just been such a big supporter of mine. He gave me a life-changing opportunity to move to North Carolina and drive his late models. To go through that and then work together and race with him as much as I did, it means a lot to have his support. Obviously, he’s done a lot for me, but he’s been a great friend for me. Thinking back to last year and the HMS opportunity, he was calling me a couple of times a week just checking in on me, pumping me up or just talking to me about everything and now that’s kind of coming back with all this going on. You find out so much about people when things get hard and the type of people they are. Dealing with all this going on, he does not hesitate to reach out to me and ask how I’m doing, if I need help or whatever and it just really shows you the character that he has.

You drove for Dale Jr. You drove for Tony Stewart. Now potentially the Wood Brothers. What’s it been like and do you think you’re prepared to drive for anybody no matter what their name is and pedigree in the sport?

I just feel incredibly thankful to go through all that and drive for so many great people. I think my career is so unique because I feel like it’s tied to Dale, now it’s tied to Tony and Kevin and even Chase Elliott, Mr. Hendrick. it’s so unique and that’s probably what I’m most proud about because throughout all this, I feel every one of those guys have advocated for me and that means more than anything. That really makes me feel really proud that when I was a part of their program that I did a good job and was respectful and a leader and a part of a program that they would go out and publicly at times advocate for me, that I wouldn’t let them down. That’s really cool. And it honestly means a lot. It’s definitely been a big, big aid to me going forward.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.