Yahoo Autos No regrets for Berry despite brief Stewart-Haas stay
It’s been less than a year since Josh Berry and Stewart-Haas Racing announced a union for the 2024 NASCAR Cup series season, but the driver is back on the free agency board.
“It’s definitely been an up and down time going from what we had a year ago ironing out the deal with the 4 team and now to Stewart-Haas going away,” Berry said this week.
Berry and his teammates are looking for jobs after Stewart-Haas announced at the end of May that the doors will close at season’s end. A short track ace turned 33-year-old NASCAR national series rookie, Berry finally got his shot at the sport’s premier level, only for uncertainty about the future to crop back up sooner than expected.
“Without a doubt, I would do it all over again even if I knew the outcome,” Berry said. “The opportunity to race for Stewart-Haas and the job that they’ve done, meeting the people that I have and working with Rodney [Childers] and this 4 team. I would 100% do that all over again.
“I hate that part of it is coming to a close, but from their side of things, the time was right to make a change and go a different direction. I think all of us respect that, and we’re going to work through it and try to find the next opportunity.”
Berry and crew chief Rodney Childers are hoping to stay together post-Stewart-Haas. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images
Berry inherited the No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse upon the retirement of 2014 champion Kevin Harvick. The team, led by champion crew chief Childers, has gone through the expected growing pains but is on an upward trajectory in the championship point standings. There are only a pair of top-10 finishes on the stat sheet, but results have not been entirely indicative of the performance.
And from here on out, every performance is an audition for Berry and his team. If any part of the team stays together beyond this year is to be determined, but Berry admitted he and Childers are hoping to be a package deal.
“That’s 100% our goal,” he said. “If that’s going to be possible is yet to be seen; if that’s going to be realistic or not. I think we most definitely want to continue (down) that path. We feel like we’ve really had a strong last month (or) month and a half. I think we’ve gotten a lot better; we’re working together better; we’re learning each other and continuing to grow. I think we’ve had some really solid runs.
“So, for us, we want to be able to continue on that trajectory and keep working with each other. And if that’s going to be possible or not is yet to be seen but that’s certainly the goal.”
