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Stewart-Haas Racing recently announced that NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry will take over Kevin Harvick's #4 Ford in the Cup Series upon the veteran's retirement at the end of the season.
Berry, 32, has made eight starts in NASCAR's elite competition already this season, filling in for Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman.
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Former Cup Series driver and one of the greats of the sport, Tony Stewart, elaborated on the team's decision to appoint Berry as Harvick's successor. The Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner believes that the team can mould Berry into a Cup Series champion. He elaborated in an interview:
"You don't get many opportunities to get a Josh Berry in my opinion. We're kind of in an era of motorsports now where all these young kids are crammed down your throat and it's not necessarily what our DNA is built on. Our DNA is built on people that have been hands on in racing for years."
Stewart further added:
"I find it hard to believe that if you really want a championship driver, that you're going to find that in anybody that's as young as these guys coming in. They're great race car drivers but I don't know if they're champions, and Josh (Berry) is somebody we feel like we can turn into a champion."
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s thoughts on Josh Berry getting a promotion to the NASCAR Cup Series
Owner of Josh Berry's Xfinity Series team JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one guy who knows Josh Berry very well. Reacting to one of his drivers getting a promotion to the NASCAR Cup Series, the former driver elaborated on how such opportunities are hard to come by for drivers of Berry's age.
Earnhardt Jr. said:
"They don't, but they should. I feel like that this might open up the thought process a little bit."
Earnhardt Jr. also talked about how the stock car racing fraternity is starting to notice older drivers as candidates for Cup Series debuts. With Berry's inclusion at SHR paving the way, we might see an influx of older talent in the highest echelon of the sport soon.
