Josh Berry opens up on his ideal crew chief after Wood Brothers announcement

Josh Berry recently opened up about the kind of crew chief he would ideally like to work with at Wood Brothers. He expressed a desire for someone who advocates for his needs regarding the race car and team dynamics. He also spoke highly of his experience with Rodney Childers, his crew chief from Stewart-Haas Racing, praising how Childers strives to elevate everyone on the team.

Josh Berry is in his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series, having stepped into the #4 car previously driven by Kevin Harvick, along with Harvick's crew chief, Rodney Childers. The new partnership showed promising results, placing them at the forefront of this year’s rookie class.

In his first 19 starts, Josh Berry has secured two top-5 finishes and four top-10s and currently stands at P19 [ahead of all the other rookie drivers].

A month ago, Stewart-Haas Racing revealed plans to cease operations after 2024. However, SHR co-owner Gene Haas has since revised those plans, opting to retain one of SHR’s four charters to operate a single-car team next year, likely driven by Cole Custer and without the participation of fellow SHR co-owner Tony Stewart.

In other developments, one of the SHR drivers, Chase Briscoe will be joining Joe Gibbs Racing next year, transitioning from Ford to Toyota as confirmed by the team. Meanwhile, Josh Berry, who is represented by Harvick’s KHI Management agency, will remain with Ford by joining Wood Brothers, the oldest team in NASCAR with a partnership with Team Penske, established in 1950.

Wood Brothers currently field the #21 Ford, driven by Harrison Burton. Josh Berry is set to take over this ride next year. The decision regarding his crew chief, however, is still pending. Discussing the same with Claire B Lang, Berry stated:

"I think we want to have a racer right at that's who I am at the core or somebody that's going to fight hard for me and fight hard for... what I need out of the race car and what we need as a team. And obviously they got to be great leaders. That's what I've learned so much from Rodney is his leadership qualities and how he makes everyone around him better supports them and brings more out of them that's important."

When further asked who he thinks is going to be his new crew chief, Josh Berry said:

"I mean ultimately it's gonna come down to the Wood Brothers team at school that I feel confident that I'm gonna be involved in the process and get my influence. The final decision is still going to be theirs. But I'm gonna... push as hard as I can for what I think is best. And I'm open-minded to all that too."

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Josh Berry was reportedly not the first choice of the Wood Brothers Team

As per reports, Josh Berry wasn't the initial preference for Wood Brothers Racing. Chase Briscoe shared earlier that before the team pursued Berry, they had discussions with him. Briscoe, who has been with Ford since 2018 when he entered their development program, was also considered.

However, once it was confirmed that the 29-year-old would be joining Joe Gibbs Racing, Wood Brothers shifted their focus fully to Josh Berry.

Team President Jon Wood elaborated on the process, saying: [via NASCAR]

"The steps with Chase, that was — I’m not gonna call it a formality, but we had to we had to talk to Chase because of our relationship and Ford’s relationship with Chase. It was very clear from the beginning that he already had either an offer or a deal in place, so we just completed those steps, checked all those boxes. And as soon as we knew that we were ready to move on to the next driver, Josh was the obvious choice."

Berry was unable to finish the race in Nashville, a disappointment that came after two successive top-10 finishes in New Hampshire and Iowa.