Josh Berry Will Replace With Kevin Harvick; Stewart-Haas Racing
Josh Berry, who fills in for Chase Elliott, has five Xfinity Series victories and finished second in the Cup Series at Richmond earlier this season…….For Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing has a substitute.
Josh Berry, who fills in for Chase Elliott, has five Xfinity Series victories and finished second in the Cup Series at Richmond earlier this season.
Josh Berry will replace Harvick in the No. 4 car beginning in 2024, according to a statement released by the team on Wednesday. Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, declared his impending retirement before the campaign began.
In making the announcement, team owner Tony Stewart stated,
“We’re super excited to get to this moment today.”
“This was not a big group of people we had to choose from. We put all our eggs in one basket and put them on this kid.”
Regarding Cup Series prospects, Josh Berry, 34, is unusual. However, contesting that he deserves a chance to drive for one of the best NASCAR teams isn’t easy.
Berry started up to three races in a season and had seven Xfinity Series starts between 2014 and 2017. But before the 2021 season, he was given another chance in NASCAR‘s lower division thanks to his performance in late models while racing for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports.
He has made the most of that chance while operating the No. 9 vehicle for JRM. Berry had 22 starts in 2021 and won two races. At Martinsville, he earned his first NASCAR victory. Later in the campaign, he triumphed in Las Vegas.
He received a full-time ride in 2022 because of his victories. In the previous season, he finished fourth in the standings with three victories and 20 top-10 finishes. Despite his lack of wins so far in 2023, he has 10 top-10 finishes in 14 outings, a worse finishing average than in 2022.
Berry makes sense as Harvick’s successor as well. Because of his age and expertise, he should get along well with crew chief Rodney Childers and is more likely to succeed right away than drivers ten years younger.
While filling in for injured Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports, Berry has already made eight Cup Series starts this year. In those visits, Berry has two previous top-10 results in addition to his second-place showing at Richmond.
Berry is expected to take Harvick’s spot at SHR going forward. Thus, three of the team’s four cars are essentially locked in for the 2024 campaign. Despite a lackluster season thus far, Chase Briscoe should return to the No. 14 car, and Ryan Preece is in his rookie year as Cole Custer’s replacement in the No. 41 car.
For the No. 10 car, though, things could be more specific. After declaring his intention to retire following the 2022 season, Aric Almirola eventually made a full-time comeback to the Cup Series in 2023. Almirola has yet to state that he will continue to drive in 2024 openly, and SHR may hunt for a replacement if Almirola decides to reduce his back or retire.
