Yahoo Autos Berry sees opportunities, just probably not with Haas
Josh Berry said Saturday he doesn’t believe he’s in the running to drive the NASCAR Cup Series car Gene Haas will field next season considering how he heard the news.
“Throughout that whole process, we heard the rumors and what was going on and whether there was going to be one charter kept or two charters kept,” Berry said at Nashville Superspeedway. “We read all that stuff on the internet like [everyone else], and that’s where I’ll leave that. I read it on the internet, so I assume that I’m not a candidate for that ride, and I’ve had no communication there.”
Haas and co-owner Tony Stewart released a joint statement May 28 announcing the organization would cease its NASCAR operations at season’s end. On the Cup Series side, it meant the end of four teams, including Berry’s. There are also two Xfinity Series teams that compete under the Stewart-Haas banner.
But on June 20, Haas reversed course and announced he would remain in NASCAR with one of the Cup Series charters. Haas will rebrand the entity to Haas Factory Team and also continue running two Xfinity Series teams.
“I’m happy that Gene is staying in the sport and continuing that on, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity that I got to come race at Stewart-Haas,” Berry continued. “ Obviously, there’s probably things that have happened that they required to make a change, and I respect them for that. I’m thankful for the opportunity I got, and we’re going to move forward in our own direction.”
Berry has not yet announced what he will do in 2025. As he continues to explore his options, he and crew chief Rodney Childers have expressed hope of staying together. It remains unclear how realistic that will be, and their future changes daily.
However, Berry did say he is optimistic about having a Cup Series ride next season.
“I feel good about [that],” he said. “I think our results have been really strong the last couple of months. …Winning a race is really all left that I can do. We finished in the top five, we ran up front, we led laps, we showed the potential that we can do [it], so that’s been a big confidence boost for me.
“You find a lot about yourself when your back’s against the wall, and I think everybody’s performing at a really high level — [the highest we’ve ever had, probably], and we’re fighting together. I feel like there are opportunities to come.”
