For Josh Berry, A Win Is The Start Of A Prosperous Nascar Future
Josh Berry (#21 Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft \ Quick Lane Ford) celebrates after winning the ... More Nascar Cup Series Pennzoil 400 on March 16, 2025, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Christopher Trim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Less than 48 hours after Josh Berry won his first career Nascar Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he was finally soaking in the reality. He successfully climbed his way up the ladder – going from sleeping in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s mother's house to reaching the pinacle of stock car racing.
Berry's grassroots story – while competing for the throwback Wood Brothers Racing – is one of the more popular pairings and success stories of the last decade. It's almost reminiscent of Martin Truex Jr.'s rise with Furniture Row Racing after Earnhardt also gave Truex his big break in 2004.
'He's a great friend and having his support, knowing how excited he's been over the last couple of years with the success we've had and now winning a Cup race,' Berry said of Earnhardt. 'He was just excited. He said he was enjoying it at the end and wanted it to stay green.'
Earnhardt enabled Berry to drive the team's late model in between drivers years back. But when he saw Berry's raw ability, he kept the Tennessee native in the car. Then, each year from 2014 through 2017, Earnhardt secured a handful of Xfinity Series races at JR Motorsports for Berry. But things went quiet after that. That was until 2021, when Earnhardt secured a 22-race Xfinity Series deal for Berry. A year later, he was so impressive that JRM locked him up for the full season, immediately becoming a championship contender.
The win is a sigh of relief for Berry, who was left without a ride after taking a job with Stewart-Haas Racing last year. But the team announced in late May that it was shutting down at season's end, leaving all four of its drivers and all of its employees looking for new opportunities.
'It was quite an experience and not one I expected to be faced with that early in my career,' Berry said. 'In the end, I feel that everything happens for a reason. I'm happy we put together an opportunity with the No. 21 team. It's a great opportunity for me and I feel like I'm in the right place.'
Nonetheless, it was still a surprising time for Berry, who was handpicked by a retiring Kevin Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers to drive the No. 4 car.
But when Berry signed with Wood Brothers Racing, expectations were modest at best. He was not expecting to compete for wins week-in and week-out early in the season. But the opposite is the case, as he's been in contention to win each of the first five Cup Series races in 2025.
'It's a dream come true as a racecar driver,' Berry said. "To get to this level is one thing, but to win in the series is a really cool feeling of accomplishment. I'm excited about everything we have going on with this race team.
'We had a good offseason and myself and my crew chief Miles Stanley worked closely with the whole team to be prepared to perform better than what I did and they did last year. Sometimes, things come together and work.'
When he joined the team, he didn't come with a big sponsor or family money. Instead, all he brought with him was raw talent and a thorough understanding of racecars. Earnhardt used to have him build the JR Motorsports late model car that he'd drive each weekend.
Berry is now locked into the playoffs, giving Wood Brothers Racing a $1 million bonus for the second year in a row. While Berry is unsure if this team will compete for a championship, he feels they can at least get through some playoff rounds.
'I'm not sure we're championship ready yet,' he said. 'We're in a great place, starting the year like we've done. Winning is a big deal. It's a weight off our shoulders. It gives us an opportunity to work over the course of the summer to focus on improving and getting better. I'm just excited for the future at this point."
Life is suddenly a bit different for Berry, who's now poised for his first-ever Cup Series playoff run.
The win is significant as it brought Wood Brothers Racing back into the conversation. The team has struggled year-after-year, seldom running as a threat to win races. Before Harrison Burton's Daytona win last summer, the team hadn't won a race since Ryan Blaney in 2017. Before that, their last win was the 2011 Daytona 500 with Trevor Bayne, snapping a 10-year winless streak.
Now, largely thanks to an alliance with Team Penske, Wood Brothers Racing are back up front and they may continue to do so with Berry behind the wheel.
'I just feel like I'm in the right place,' Berry said.
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