“I wanted to make sure that Dale Jr. wouldn’t be mad”: NASCAR champion unveils the riveting backstory of his Josh Berry decision

In the latest episode of his podcast, "Happy Hour," Kevin Harvick recounted his conversation with Dale Jr. regarding Josh Berry's signing for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick also reflected on the opportunity Earnhardt Jr. provided Berry during his time with Junior's team.

Josh Berry ventured into stock car racing nearly a decade ago in 2014 with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s co-owned team JR Motorsports. He switched a lot of teams and landed a full-time seat with the team in the 2022 season. Berry spent two seasons with the team before moving to Stewart Haas Racing in the Cup Series.

On the podcast, Kaitlyn Vincie asked Kevin Harvick to recall the time when he asked Dale Jr. to sign Josh Berry. He mentioned the team wanted him to sign the new driver for their fourth car, and Harvick stated:

"I started talking to Dale about how to go about this, and I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be mad if we went and talked to Josh because he was driving a Chevrolet; he was driving for Dale, so I started talking to Dale about Josh's scenario and trying to put him in the four-car." [13:38 onwards]

He further mentioned that Josh Berry was a part of the JR Motorsports family and Dale Jr. had provided him with "some amazing opportunities."

"Josh has been a part of their family, you know, for a number of years and had, you know, some amazing opportunities, and with the late models and cars, that's the biggest reason that he's where he is," he added.

Stewart-Haas Racing ceased its operations after wrapping up the 2024 season, and Josh Berry signed a deal with Wood Brothers Racing. Berry replaced the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 champion, Harrison Burton.

---

Dale Jr.'s sister, Kelley Earnhardt, penned a celebratory message for Josh Berry

Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry clinched his maiden win in the 2025 season. He won the Pennzoil 400 held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 16, 2025. Berry impressed everyone with his remarkable performance, including Dale Jr.'s sister, Kelley Earnhardt-Miller.

Following his first career victory, the 34-year-old professional race car driver secured a spot in the playoffs in his debut season with Wood Brothers Racing. Berry had a decent qualifying run, securing seventh place for the Pennzoil 400, and had an intense battle with Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez on lap 254 for the lead.

Berry ultimately took the lead and crossed the finish line with a margin of 1.35 seconds, leaving Suarez in second place. Reflecting upon this, Dale Jr.'s sister, Kelley Earnhardt tweeted:

"Heck ya @joshberry @woodbrothers21! Who can’t love that!"

NASCAR's longest-running team, Wood Brothers Racing, marked their 101st win in the Cup Series with Berry's Las Vegas win. The team's 100th win came last year with their former driver Harrison Burton's triumph at the Coke Zero 400.