Rodney Childers speaks on uncertain future with Josh Berry amid SHR closure announcement: "We have a ton of respect"

Stewart-Haas Racing veteran and Josh Berry's crew chief Rodney Childers has voiced his admiration and respect towards the No. 4 Ford driver. Berry finds his SHR future hanging in the balance following the team announcing its discontinuation at the end of the ongoing campaign.

Coming through the ranks of JR Motorsports, 2024 was supposed to be the big break for former Late Model Stock Car driver Josh Berry. The 33-year-old driver, who made his full-time Xfinity Series debut as late as 2022, signed a high-profile deal with two-time Cup Series winning team Stewart-Haas Racing.

Berry signed for SHR as a replacement for former NASCAR Cup Series champion and future Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick. The latter, who had won the Cup title with Tony Stewart's outfit in 2014, retired at the end of last season.

Once in SHR, Josh Berry partnered with veteran crew chief Rodney Childers. While much was expected from the brand-new pairing in the No. 4 Ford camp, Berry has failed to live up to the expectations, much to his dismay.

With playoff chances looking bleak at the time of writing, Berry also faces uncertainty surrounding his future in the series. Stewart-Haas Racing's decision to cease its operations at the end of the campaign leaves the team with only one charter for next season, which is set to be fielded under the branding of Haas Factory Team.

In light of this uncertainty, Childers recently expressed his respect and support for Berry. Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Childers said:

"I have been a huge supporter of him, and honestly he has been a huge supporter of mine. I think that's why he has made it work so well. We have a ton of respect for each other."

"I would love to stay with him. I don't know if that can happen. We both have a lot of different things going on, it seems to change about every two hours and it's hard to navigate. Somedays it's as confusing as it can be, and other days it's pretty straightforward."

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Rodney Childers wishes to win Daytona 500 with Josh Berry

Despite the challenges, Rodney Childers remains optimistic about the future. He expressed a strong desire to continue working with Josh Berry and achieving significant milestones together. He said:

"I want to keep working hard, I want to keep winning races. I still want to win the Daytona 500, maybe one more Championship. We both feel like we could do those things together. We would love for that to happen."

Childers added:

"Between the two of us and some more people on the #4 car, we want that to happen. Whether that can or not is yet to be seen. I think we just tgotta keep letting somethings play out week by week and keep praying for the best."

Berry currently finds himself 263 points behind the Cup Series playoff cutline. He has two top-5 finishes in 18 starts this season.