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Josh Berry To Pilot Stewart-Hass Racing’s No. 4 Ford In 2024 Cup Series Season

by racerx55 June 21, 2023 0 comments

By: Trish McCormack

CONCORD, NC – Stewart-Haas Racing announced Wednesday that Josh Berry will replace Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Ford in 2024. Berry currently drives the No. 8 Bass Pro Shop Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and has made 10-career NASCAR Cup Series starts.

Finding success from an early age, Berry started his Late Model Stock Car career with JR Motorsports in 2010, where he won track titles at Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia (2012) and Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina (2014). The same year, he won his Hickory Motor Speedway title Berry debuted in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) with mixed results. On Wednesday, Berry reflected on his past.

“When I was running short tracks and racing all over, all I was worried about was winning those races and working hard and building fast race cars and doing everything we could to win every race we went to, and that was the goal I didn’t really think about my future,” Berry said. “I had accepted the fact that I was going to be a full-time short track racer.” 

Berry started competing full time in the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Series in 2017 in the JR Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet, winning the series championship that same year. 

In 2021, Berry drove a partial schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the JR Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet, where he picked up his first Xfinity Series win at Martinsville Speedway and a second win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway later that season. During the 2021 season, Berry also drove the No. 31 Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing as well as the JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet filling in for Michael Annett after Annett sustained injuries to his right leg. Berry competed in 22 of the 33 scheduled Xfinity Series races ending the season with two wins, six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. 

Coming off of a successful 2021 season, Berry carried over the momentum to his first full-time Xfinity Series season in 2022, piloting the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Berry collected three wins, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. His on-track success in 2022 led to Berry being part of the Championship 4 in the NASCAR Playoffs, competing for the Xfinity Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway. Berry said that he will forever remember his time with JR Motorsports,

“It was an amazing journey to get here racing late model stocks and Xfinity cars obviously for JR Motorsports and the success we had is something that I will forever look back on so fondly,” said Berry. 

The 2023 season has been full of twists and turns for Berry. While competing full-time in the Xfinity Series, Berry also filled in at Hendrick Motorsports for Chase Elliott who broke his leg in a snowboarding incident prior to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway race on March 5, and Alex Bowman, who suffered a fractured vertebra in a Sprint Car incident on April 25. While filling in for the injured Bowman, Berry recorded his first NASCAR Cup Series non-points win after taking the checkered flag in the All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway. 

Looking to 2024, Berry is ready to take over the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford that’s being vacated by Harvick.

“I can’t imagine a better opportunity for myself than to be full time cup racing with Stewart Haas and headed for the No.4 car,” Berry said. “In the meantime, these guys got a lot of races left to do this year as well and I’m gonna be excited to cheer on Kevin and Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and his whole group as well as everybody’s Stewart-Haas, and you know obviously on my side of things I have a lot of racing to do myself with JR Motorsports. So, we’re ready to get going.

After spending 13 years with JR Motorsports and various opportunities, Berry is ready to make a new home for himself at Stewart-Haas Racing with hopes that he finds success with a championship caliber team and organization.

Photo Credit: Trish McCormack/TheFourthTurn.com