"We had to talk to Chase Briscoe first": Wood Brothers CEO explains why Josh Berry wasn't initial choice for No. 21

Wood Brothers Racing CEO Eddie Wood recently explained why Josh Berry wasn't their first choice in the No.21 this season. They had initially approached Berry's Stewart–Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe for the 2025 season.

The Xfinity Series race winner joined Stewart-Haas Racing as a full-time driver in the Cup Series at the beginning of 2024, piloting the #4 Ford. As the season progressed, SHR announced its closure throwing a wrench in the works for Berry's future in NASCAR. WBR's announcement sealed Berry's fate, allowing him to compete next season, driving the #21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

In a recent interview, Wood spoke about why Chase Briscoe was their first choice:

"We had to talk to Chase first because he had a relationship with Ford Performance through the development series, it went back a number of years, "[03:06]

"We had Josh in the back of our mind anyway and when everything unfolded like it did, we were just really excited to talk to Josh, and we didn't waste any time doing it...it was a real easy process and we're just happy that he's with us," he added [03:25]

Josh Berry's arrival at WBR comes at the cost of Harrison Burton, who had driven the #21 Ford since 2022. Burton made 91 starts for the team, securing one top-five finish, and five top-ten finishes.

After an underwhelming weekend at Chicago, Berry stands in P21 in the driver standings with 369 points. He's 30 points behind Austin Cindric, who won the Cup Series race in Illinois this season. Berry has had a winless season thus far, with two top-five, and four top-ten finishes.

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Josh Berry talks about his future with SHR crew chief Rodney Childers

Josh Berry scored a third-place finish with SHR at Darlington and New Hampshire (IMAGE: IMAGN)

Following Berry's move to WBR, there has been speculation about him potentially reuniting with Rodney Childers, his current crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing, for the 2025 season.

A highly respected icon in the NASCAR fraternity, Childers finds himself without a confirmed position for the 2025 season. Although he is considered one of the best crew chiefs in the circuit, the probability of him reuniting with Berry at WBR isn't big.

In an interview with Frontstretch, Berry was asked about a potential reunion with Childers. This was his response:

"It's been a great opportunity to work with him (Childers). The future part, I don't have comments on. It's just gonna take time to play out. But, we'll take it as it comes and move on." he added

Talking about Childers as a mentor, Berry said:

"He's been amazing to work with. Obviously I knew coming to Stewart-Haas and working with Rodney would be a great experience"