Josh Berry leaves crew chief decision in the hands of his new team Wood Brothers

Josh Berry is all set to join the famed Wood Brothers Racing. The 33-year-old Cup Series rookie will pilot the No. 21 machine on a multi-year deal starting in 2025. However, he has left the decision to appoint his crew chief up to his team.

Following the announcement of Stewart-Haas Racing's NASCAR exit, Berry was left looking for a team that would take him in. Wood Brothers Racing, which is allied with Team Penske, announced in July that Berry would be joining their Cup Series roster, replacing Harrison Burton.

Berry currently drives the No. 4 Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, a team which he joined only this season. When asked about his involvement in discussions like who his crew chief is going to be, Berry told journalist Davey Segal,

"I've had meetings with a couple guys and ultimately that's on them to figure out really more than anything. I'm confident in their process and how they go through things. They're working on that; getting that all dialed up and we'll be ready next year to hit the ground running."

Berry's teammates at Stewart-Haas Racing have all landed new teams for the upcoming season. Chase Briscoe will be joining Joe Gibbs Racing as the driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry, while Noah Gragson will replace Michael McDowell behind the wheel of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports car.

Stewart-Haas Racing's co-owner, Gene Haas, will retain one of the four SHR charters and form a new one-car Cup Series team, the Haas Factory Team, based in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Besides its operations at the Cup level, the newly formed team will field two cars in the Xfinity Series.

---

Josh Berry denies "awkwardness" with Harrison Burton about their NASCAR future

During the post-race media availability at Atlanta Motor Speedway a few days ago, a reporter asked Berry whether there were any hard feelings or awkwardness between him and Harrison Burton, given that the former would be replacing the latter next year, while the latter would remain looking for another opportunity.

"We're all professionals," Josh Berry explained (5:56). "We’ve all been doing this stuff a long time and there’s no awkwardness or hard feelings there. Obviously, I’m cheering for those guys. They’re in the Playoffs. They’re focused. I’m staying out of everything they have going on. They’re focused on their Playoff run these next few weeks and I’m gonna let them do their thing."

Burton passed two-time series champion, Kyle Busch, on the last lap of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona last month, delivering his first win in the Cup Series and 100th for the legendary Wood Brothers Racing.

Burton and Berry will race next week (September 21) in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Fans can watch the duo in action on NBC and USA from 7:30 PM ET onwards. Radio updates will be available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.