Josh Berry will pilot Stewart Haas Racing No. 4 Ford in 2024
On Wednesday, June 21st it was announced that Josh Berry will pilot the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in 2024. Kevin Harvick, 2014 Cup Series Champion, will be retiring at the end of this season. Rodney Childress will continue to serve as crew chief for the race team.
During a press conference in the Charlotte Motor
Speedway Media Center, the 32-year-old Hendersonville, Tennessee native was
joined by Greg Zipadelli, Kevin Harvick, and Rodney Childers. He shared his excitement
about this opportunity of a lifetime.
“Obviously this is a really special day for me
and special for a lot of people,” Berry said. “First off, I have to thank
everybody sitting up here with me for believing in me and, bringing me here to
this. This is such a special day and it’s been a fun process over the last
couple of months getting to know these guys and working with them, and 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.”
As he
prepares to have the baton passed off to him next season, Berry shared his
admiration and respect for Harvick. “It’s going to be a great challenge trying to
fill the job that Kevin’s done over the years. I mean, he’s a future
Hall-of-Famer and has won countless races, a championship and I’ve been
watching the races this year. These guys have been running really well from
what I’ve been seeing. So it’s really encouraging for me and exciting to know
that I’m gonna’ get such a great group around me. I intend to
do everything I can to try to keep that group together and excited to work with
me.”
In 2010, Josh
Berry began driving for JR Motorsports, which is owed by 2021 NASCAR Hall of
Famer Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in Late Model stock cars earning three championships
for the team. During the 2014-2017 seasons, he began competing in the formerly
named NASCAR Nationwide Series for limited races. In 2021, he earned the
opportunity to run a partial schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series piloting the
No. 8 car.
“It’s a big relief because we’ve been waiting on this opportunity for Josh,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It’s a big relief any time you can help anybody achieve a goal like that. I’m just looking forward to getting into this next season and him getting behind the wheel and starting to work. It’s going to be a lot of work. It’s going to be tough. There will be some challenges and he’ll have a lot of help and support, myself included, just to navigate all that.”
In
his seven years of competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Berry has earned
five wins, 23 top-fives, 44 top-tens, one pole, and has led 684 laps. He has
also competed in the NASCAR Cup Series for two seasons earning one top-five and
three top-tens.
Four-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and Stewart-Haas team owner Tony Stewart is enthusiastic about the talent and skills that Berry will be bringing to the team in 2024. “We literally put all of our eggs in one basket, and we put them on this kid to my left here with Josh Berry,” Stewart said. “He’s somebody that we all feel like is the right fit to step into the No. 4 car in the future and we’re all super excited to have him at Stewart-Haas Racing.”
Reviewed by Unique Hiram
on
Friday, June 23, 2023
Rating:
