Josh Berry

Joshua William Berry (born October 22, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Racing. Berry is noted for getting his start as a standout in Late Model Stock Cars with JR Motorsports from 2010–2023, where he became the all-time winningest driver in CARS Tour history.

Racing career Early career and late model racing Berry met his future car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008 when competing in an online sim racing league called DMP Online Racing. At the time, he was racing Legend Cars at his home track of the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville while also attending Volunteer State Community College and working as a bank teller to fund his racing career. Earnhardt Jr. then signed Berry to his JR Motorsports team in 2010 to compete in late model racing.

At the 2015 Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, Berry spun Lee Pulliam while racing him and Timothy Peters for the lead on the final lap; Berry was moved down to seventeenth in the running order and drew criticism from Pulliam, who called Berry "the biggest joke in racing." After being spun by Bobby McCarty in CARS Tour at Motor Mile Speedway in 2019 and Ace Speedway in 2020, both times when Berry was leading the race, Berry intentionally wrecked McCarty later in the Ace Speedway race, resulting in a one-race suspension. Berry ditched a planned CARS schedule and instead focused on the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, winning 24 races en route to a national championship.

On August 31, 2022, Berry was the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the CARS Tour Window World 125 late model race at North Wilkesboro Speedway and on May 17, 2023, again for the race at North Wilkesboro Speedway the following season.

NASCAR and ARCA 2014–2021 Berry's first NASCAR Xfinity Series race came at Iowa Speedway, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. He started tenth and finished twelfth, finishing on the lead lap. He returned to the 5 car for the season finale at Homestead–Miami Speedway, again logging a lead-lap finish in 25th. He finished his debut season 50th in points. He returned to JR Motorsports for one race in 2015, finishing seventh at Richmond International Raceway. In 2016, his first race of the season was at Iowa, where he finished ninth in the No. 88 for JR Motorsports. He returned to that car in the first race of the Xfinity Series Playoffs, at Kentucky Speedway and ended up finishing thirteenth. Berry also made one start for Obaika Racing, finishing 27th at Darlington Raceway. Berry also debuted in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during the 2016 season, driving the No. 71 Contreras Motorsports truck to a thirteenth-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway.

In 2017, Berry made his first Xfinity Series start of the season, attempting the Kansas race for newly-formed NextGen Motorsports, driving their No. 55 Toyota. After qualifying 33rd, he finished 34th after suffering an engine failure on lap 182.

In 2018, Berry made his debut in the ARCA Racing Series, driving for Chad Bryant Racing in their No. 22 Ford at Salem Speedway in April of that year, finishing fourth. In 2019, he drove for Visconti Motorsports and finished third in their No. 74 car in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire in September, which was his first start in that series. These were his only starts in NASCAR or ARCA in both of these years.

2021 Berry in the No. 02 truck for Young's Motorsports at Atlanta in 2021 Berry (No. 8) racing Daniel Hemric (No. 18) and Jeb Burton (No. 10) at Atlanta in March 2021 On October 22, 2020, JR Motorsports announced that it had scheduled Berry to drive its No. 8 car for 12 races in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. At Phoenix Raceway, Berry was turned by Santino Ferrucci, prompting him to give Ferrucci double middle fingers as he drove by. He recorded his first Xfinity win at Martinsville upon passing Ty Gibbs for the lead with 28 laps remaining; Berry was the fifth driver to win his maiden race in the series at Martinsville alongside Sam Ard (1982), Brett Bodine (1985), Brad Teague (1987) and Jeff Burton (1990).

In March, Berry returned to the Truck Series for the first time since 2016. He substituted for Kris Wright in the No. 02 for Young's Motorsports after Wright tested positive for COVID-19.

In May, Berry made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, substituting for Justin Haley in the Spire Motorsports No. 77 car after Haley was sidelined by COVID-19 protocols, marking the second time that Berry was called on to fill in for a driver that had to miss a race because of COVID-19. He also drove in his second ARCA Menards Series East (formerly NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) race that weekend in the No. 41 for Cook-Finley Racing, which meant that he did triple duty that weekend at Dover. On May 26, it was announced that Berry would get to compete in the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio road course in the No. 31 for Jordan Anderson Racing. Miguel Paludo was driving Berry's normal car, the No. 8 for JR Motorsports, in this race.

Another Truck return came in June in the No. 25 of Rackley W.A.R. for three races at Texas, Nashville, and Pocono after the departure of Timothy Peters. A month later, he rejoined JRM for the Xfinity race at Loudon in the No. 1 after Michael Annett suffered a leg injury.

On August 16, Berry was confirmed to drive the No. 8 for JR Motorsports full-time in 2022. Later in the week, he filled in for Spire's other Cup driver Corey LaJoie at Michigan when LaJoie was not allowed to compete, again due to COVID-19 protocols. When Annett was re-injured in September, Berry once again took over as replacement at Bristol and Las Vegas, and he won the latter after passing teammate Justin Allgaier with under twenty laps to go.

2022 Berry began the 2022 season with a sixteenth-place finish at Daytona. He scored wins at Dover and Charlotte to make the playoffs. During the playoffs, Berry won at Las Vegas to make the Championship 4. Berry would ultimately finish fourth in the final points standings.

2023 During the 2023 season, Berry drove winless but stayed consistent enough to make the playoffs. He was eliminated at the conclusion of the Charlotte Roval race.

On March 3, it was announced that Berry would run the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 at the Las Vegas Cup race after Chase Elliott sustained a leg injury from snowboarding in Colorado. Berry finished 10th the following week in the Cup Series race at Phoenix, and filled in for the next three oval races until Elliott recovered to return at Martinsville. Berry finished second at Richmond, his career best in the Cup Series up to that point. On April 26, Berry was announced as the substitute driver of the No. 48 after Alex Bowman suffered a back injury from a sprint car racing accident. On May 21, he raced in the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race in place of Bowman, qualifying first place in the open qualifying race, allowing him to compete in the main race, where he finished fifteenth. He would then be announced as the driver for Legacy Motor Club in the No. 42 at Michigan after Noah Gragson was suspended indefinitely. He would go on to finish 34th after being involved in a crash while running sixteenth.

2024: Stewart–Haas Racing

On June 21, 2023, Stewart–Haas Racing signed Berry as Kevin Harvick's replacement in the No. 4 in 2024. Berry started the season with a 25th place finish at the 2024 Daytona 500. He scored a season-best third-place finish at Darlington and New Hampshire.

On May 28, 2024, Stewart–Haas Racing announced it would shut down its NASCAR operations at the end of the season.

In the Xfinity Series, Berry signed to drive the AM Racing No. 15 at Pocono.

During the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400, Berry was involved in a major crash on lap 159. While leading the second lane down the backstretch, Austin Cindric was turned up the track following a push from behind. Cindric and Berry both spun towards the inside as a multi-car incident ensued behind. Berry's car lifted off the ground, overturned, and slid on its roof at high speed for several seconds. Still upside down, it impacted the inside wall head-on, sending it into a spin before it finally stopped on the apron of the track. After track safety workers righted the overturned car, Berry exited unharmed. Thought of a very similar nature arose to a crash suffered by Ryan Preece in the previous year's running, Berry's car did not barrel roll, due likely to the updates to the track following the former's incident that saw the grass in the area removed and replaced with pavement. The flip happened in spite of an additional air deflector implemented in the intervening week after Corey LaJoie had a similar crash at Michigan the previous race, intended to prevent cars from lifting off the ground.

2025: Wood Brothers Racing, first career win, and playoff collapse

On July 3, 2024, Berry signed a multi-year deal with Wood Brothers Racing to drive the No. 21 car, replacing Harrison Burton. He started the 2025 season with a 37th place DNF at the 2025 Daytona 500. About a month later, with a fourth-place finish, it was the first time that the Wood Brothers finished inside the top five at Phoenix. The next week, Berry scored his first career Cup Series win at Las Vegas after passing and pulling away from Daniel Suárez. This win marked the first time since the 1986 and 1987 seasons that the Wood Brothers won in back to back seasons (both won with Kyle Petty). After a string of back-to-back-to-back last place finishes at Darlington, Gateway, and Bristol, Berry was eliminated at the conclusion of the round of 16.

Personal life Berry worked as a bank teller before his racing career provided a steady income. He is a graduate of Volunteer State Community College. He also attended the same high school at the same time as Taylor Swift.

Motorsports career results

Stock car career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Points Position 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series JR Motorsports 2 0 0 0 51 50th NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Darin Odle 2 0 0 0 47 47th 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series JR Motorsports 1 0 0 1 37 60th 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series JR Motorsports 2 0 0 1 74 41st Obaika Racing 1 0 0 0 NASCAR Truck Series Contreras Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 NC† 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series NextGen Motorsports 1 0 0 0 3 80th 2018 ARCA Racing Series Chad Bryant Racing 1 0 1 1 215 74th 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Visconti Motorsports 1 0 1 1 41 31st 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Spire Motorsports 2 0 0 0 0 NC† NASCAR Xfinity Series JR Motorsports 12 1 4 6 540 17th Jordan Anderson Racing 5 0 0 2 JR Motorsports 5 1 2 4 NASCAR Truck Series Young's Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 NC† Rackley W.A.R. 9 0 0 1 ARCA Menards Series East Cook-Finley Racing 1 0 1 1 42 33rd 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series JR Motorsports 33 3 11 20 4024 4th ARCA Menards Series McGowan Motorsports 1 0 0 1 36 80th ARCA Menards Series West 1 0 0 1 36 53rd 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Hendrick Motorsports 8 0 1 3 0 NC† Legacy Motor Club 2 0 0 0 NASCAR Xfinity Series JR Motorsports 33 0 11 18 2172 11th 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Stewart–Haas Racing 36 0 2 4 579 27th NASCAR Xfinity Series AM Racing 2 0 0 0 0 NC† 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Wood Brothers Racing 36 1 3 8 2150 16th † As Berry was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series NASCAR Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 2021 Spire Motorsports 77 Chevy DAY DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL BRD MAR RCH TAL KAN DAR DOV30 COA CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IRC 60th 01 7 MCH26 DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO 2023 Hendrick Motorsports 9 Chevy DAY CAL LVS29 PHO10 ATL18 COA RCH2 BRD27 MAR TAL 43rd 01 48 DOV10 KAN25 DAR30 CLT GTW SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC RCH Legacy Motor Club 42 Chevy MCH34 IRC GLN DAY22 DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 2024 Stewart–Haas Racing 4 Ford DAY25 ATL29 LVS20 PHO26 BRI12 COA35 RCH11 MAR25 TEX36 TAL16 DOV14 KAN15 DAR3 CLT10 GTW36 SON32 IOW7 NHA3 NSH26 CSC36 POC20 IND35 RCH14 MCH22 DAY26 DAR31 ATL28 GLN25 BRI29 KAN38 TAL36 ROV22 LVS24 HOM11 MAR16 PHO24 27th 579 2025 Wood Brothers Racing 21 Ford DAY37 ATL25 COA26 PHO4 LVS1 HOM17 MAR32 DAR36 BRI12 TAL26 TEX32 KAN6 CLT12 NSH30 MCH12 MXC26 POC12 ATL32 CSC34 SON13 DOV28 IND22 IOW13 GLN35 RCH8 DAY9 DAR38 GTW36 BRI39 NHA2 KAN33 ROV16 LVS26 TAL33 MAR10 PHO7 16th 2150 2026 DAY9 ATL38 COA26 PHO32 LVS31 DAR17 MAR10 BRI32 KAN27 TAL33 TEX29 GLN32 CLT29 NSH31 MCH15 POC33 COR29 SON28 CHI33 ATL25 NWS36 IND7 IOW4 RCH8 NHA3 DAY9 DAR GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2024 Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 30 25 2025 Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29 37 2026 14 9

Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Pts Ref 2014 JR Motorsports 5 Chevy DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW12 GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM25 50th 51 2015 88 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH CHI DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH7 CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 60th 37 2016 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW9 GLN MOH BRI ROA KEN13 DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 41st 74 Obaika Racing 97 Chevy DAR27 RCH CHI 2017 NextGen Motorsports 55 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN34 TEX PHO HOM 80th 3 2021 JR Motorsports 8 Chevy DAY27 DRC HOM10 LVS7 PHO36 ATL38 MAR1* TAL31 DAR2 DOV2 COA CLT32 TEX19 NSH4 17th 540 Jordan Anderson Racing 31 Chevy MOH8 POC9 ROA ATL23 RCH24 MAR28 PHO JR Motorsports 1 Chevy NHA8 GLN IRC MCH4 DAY DAR BRI35 LVS1 TAL9 ROV TEX KAN 2022 8 DAY16 CAL4 LVS4 PHO3 ATL33 COA27 RCH7 MAR19 TAL11 DOV1 DAR18 TEX7* CLT1* PIR4 NSH29 ROA3 ATL2 NHA31 POC3 IRC14 MCH6 GLN9 DAY18 DAR8 KAN7 BRI7 TEX6 TAL5 ROV8 LVS1 HOM11 MAR20 PHO13 4th 4024 2023 DAY26 CAL5 LVS5 PHO8 ATL7 COA8 RCH3 MAR4 TAL30 DOV2 DAR7 CLT15 PIR4 SON33 NSH5 CSC24 ATL19 NHA17 POC24* ROA6 MCH2 IRC14 GLN20 DAY17 DAR5 KAN6 BRI36 TEX27 ROV3 LVS12 HOM32 MAR5 PHO6 11th 2172 2024 AM Racing 15 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV DAR CLT PIR SON IOW NHA NSH CSC POC27 IND38 MCH DAY DAR ATL GLN BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 104th 01

Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pts Ref 2016 Contreras Motorsports 71 Chevy DAY ATL MAR KAN DOV CLT TEX IOW GTW KEN ELD POC BRI MCH MSP CHI13 NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 92nd 01 2021 Young's Motorsports 02 Chevy DAY DRC LVS ATL22 BRD RCH KAN DAR COA CLT 102nd 01 Rackley W.A.R. 25 Chevy TEX10 NSH19 POC11 KNX28 GLN11 GTW15 DAR17 BRI11 LVS TAL MAR28 PHO

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Menards Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Ref 2018 Chad Bryant Racing 22 Ford DAY NSH SLM4 TAL TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW ELK POC ISF BLN DSF SLM IRP KAN 74th 215 2022 McGowan Motorsports 17w Chevy DAY PHO8 TAL KAN CLT IOW BLN ELK MOH POC IRP MCH GLN ISF MLW DSF KAN BRI SLM TOL 80th 36

ARCA Menards Series East ARCA Menards Series East results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts Ref 2014 Darin Odle 45 Ford NSM DAY BRI GRE24 RCH17 IOW BGS FIF LGY NHA COL IOW GLN VIR GRE DOV 47th 47 2019 Visconti Motorsports 74 Chevy NSM BRI SBO SBO MEM NHA IOW GLN BRI GTW NHA3 DOV 31st 41 2021 Cook-Finley Racing 41 Chevy NSM FIF NSV DOV2 SNM IOW MLW BRI 33rd 42

ARCA Menards Series West ARCA Menards Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Ref 2022 McGowan Motorsports 17w Chevy PHO8 IRW KCR PIR SON IRW EVG PIR AAS LVS PHO 53rd 36

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

CARS Super Late Model Tour (key) CARS Super Late Model Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Ref 2015 Lee Faulk Racing 5 N/A SNM ROU HCY SNM TCM MMS ROU CON MYB HCY3 42nd 30 2016 Hampke Racing 74 N/A SNM ROU HCY TCM GRE ROU CON MYB HCY9 SNM 44th 24 2019 DLP Motorsports 97 Chevy SNM HCY10 NSH MMS BRI HCY ROU SBO 32nd 24 2021 Wade Lopez 96 Chevy HCY GPS NSH JEN7 HCY MMS TCM SBO 22nd 28

CARS Pro Late Model Tour (key) CARS Pro Late Model Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Ref 2025 Fathead Racing 21 Ford AAS CDL OCS ACE NWS5 CRW HCY HCY AND FLC SBO TCM NWS 49th 37

ASA STARS National Tour (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.) ASA STARS National Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts Ref 2024 Kevin Harvick Inc. 4 Ford NSM FIF HCY5 MAD MLW AND OWO TOL WIN NSV 39th 66