Here's what happened when drivers Josef Newgarden, Josh Berry returned to their middle school

Yahoo

06-02-2025

HENDERSONVILLE — Josh Berry is living life in the fast lane as he gears up for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16 in his second season as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver.
That's why Berry's advice Wednesday — made to a group of students at the middle school he attended 20 years ago — came as a surprise.
Berry joined former classmate Josef Newgarden, a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, at Ellis Middle School, where they reminisced as they walked the hallways before meeting with a group of current students. The visit was arranged by PPG Industries, which is a sponsor of both drivers.
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Berry started racing go-karts in seventh grade, but he encouraged the students to avoid being in a hurry to follow in his footsteps.
"Don't be so worried about your future that you don't enjoy what you're doing right now," Berry said. "Look at us — we're 34 years old, we drive race cars for a living and we're back here at our middle school and we think it's so cool to be here. Just enjoy these years because they're so much fun. Enjoy the time with your parents and your friends and playing sports. The future, you'll figure it out."
After being discovered by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Berry became one of the top drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series before moving up to the Cup Series in 2024. He took over the No. 4 car at Stewart-Haas Racing, previously driven by NASCAR Cup champion Kevin Harvick.
Berry posted two top-5 finishes (the USA Today 301 and Goodyear 400) and four top-10s in 36 races. He also finished third in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race.
He moved to Wood Brothers after Stewart-Haas Racing closed at the end of the 2024 season.
While being in the Cup Series was always his ultimate goal, Berry told the students some of his best memories remain the late nights he and his dad spent working on the go-kart he received as a Christmas gift as a teenager.
Berry and Newgarden barely knew each other in middle school. They were not close friends and had no idea they shared the same dream of being professional race car drivers.
Blown-up seventh and eighth grade class pictures of the two were hung on the walls at Ellis, and they got to look through their yearbooks.
They also were given copies of their attendance records. Berry missed just three days in eighth grade; Newgarden missed 21.
"Wow, I was already racing a lot back then so I was gone a lot," Newgarden said. "I really struggled with that when I got to high school."
The two separated after leaving middle school. Berry attended Hendersonville High and Newgarden went to Pope John Paul II.
They didn't see each other for 15 years until Newgarden was watching a television show about stock car racing and heard Berry's name mentioned.
"They said, 'Josh Berry,' and I said, 'I know I know Josh Berry,' " Newgarden said. "We got in touch not long after that and have become close. We've often talked about how crazy it is that two kids in Hendersonville dreamed of becoming race car drivers and it eventually happened."
Newgarden will attempt to win the Indianapolis 500 for a third consecutive year, something that has never been done.
There was pressure, he said, to claim his second straight Indy 500 victory, but it's different as he aims for his third.
"There's always pressure, but in a lot of ways it feels like less pressure," he said. "Indy is such a demanding race. And when you win it once, and certainly for us winning it back-to-back, anything after that is just going to be extra. We've already climbed the mountain in a lot of ways."
But can he do it?
"The numbers are not on our side. It's never been done," Newgarden said. "So odds-wise, it doesn't look good. But I think we'll have an opportunity to go for three in a row. I think we'll have fast cars, we sort of fixed our speed issues at Indy over the last couple of years. We've had some of the best race cars over the last two years and I don't see why we can't do that again."
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Race car drivers Josef Newgarden, Josh Berry return to middle school