Josh Berry set to join Wood Brothers Racing in 2025

CONCORD, N.C. — Josh Berry‘s future in the NASCAR Cup Series is plenty safe.

The 33-year-old rookie will pivot to the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford on a multiyear deal beginning in 2025, the team announced Wednesday at the Ford Technical Center. Berry, the current driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, immediately began searching for a new opportunity at the Cup level once SHR announced May 28 it would shutter its four-car operation at the conclusion of the 2024 season.

What he found was a team that was keen on him, his abilities and which improvements he could bring to the storied Wood Brothers program.

“I think Josh was the obvious choice,” team president Jon Wood said.

RELATED: Josh Berry driver page | Wood Brothers team page

“This really feels like a great fit for me,” Berry said. “I feel like I fit their brand and who they are and how I got here, how they got here. I feel like this is a great fit. I really enjoyed our relationship with Ford and to continue that on was something that’s important to me, and I appreciate and I’m thankful to have that opportunity. And it really just means a lot to drive an iconic car like the 21.”

Berry leaps to a Wood Brothers team affiliated with Team Penske, featuring two-time Cup champ Joey Logano, defending series champion Ryan Blaney and 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric. Having those drivers as resources as well as the data shared between the four teams — three at Penske in addition to the Wood Brothers‘ 21 — excited Berry as he considered what options were on the table to remain in the Cup Series.

“I have a great opportunity to come in here and help be a part of getting them back to running where they want to run and where they expect to run,” Berry said, “and I have the same expectations. I feel like that between everyone here at the Wood Brothers, between the affiliation with Team Penske and Ford, I think we have the pieces in place to be competitive. And I think where I’m at with the Next Gen car, I think we’ll be able to hit the ground running.”

Before meeting with Berry, the organization met with his current teammate Chase Briscoe, whose relationship with Ford dates back to 2018 when Briscoe joined the manufacturer‘s development program. But once it became clear Briscoe would instead be heading to Joe Gibbs Racing in a Toyota next year, Wood made it clear Berry was who the team had primarily targeted.

“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,” Wood said. “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.”

With Berry‘s arrival comes the departure of Harrison Burton, who has driven the No. 21 Ford since 2022. In 91 starts with the Wood Brothers, Burton has one top five and five top-10 finishes. Burton has a 26.7 average finish through 19 races in 2024, two spots lower than his 2023 average, and ranks 33rd in points ahead of Sunday‘s race at the Chicago Street Course (4:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

“We need to be better. There‘s no secret,” Wood said. “This is a business that’s based on chemistry, and it’s a sport that’s based on results, and right now, we’re just not having those results. You know, Harrison shares some responsibility. If it’s on us — we’re not pointing fingers. We’re not here to say this one’s at fault; that one’s at fault. We’re just not where we need to be, and so finding that right chemistry and balance to have those results and performance, that’s what we‘re looking for.”

Berry and his current team on the No. 4 Ford have impressed consistently over the past two months despite what has become a lame-duck season as the organization around them will close by the season‘s end. Berry has one top five and two top 10s in the past three races, including a strong showing at Iowa Speedway in which he led 32 laps before finishing seventh. He also scored third-place finishes at both Darlington Raceway in May and New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June, in addition to a 10th-place showing in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

While all of that is worthy of recognition itself, Wood also pointed to his 2023 performances as a substitute racer for Hendrick Motorsports‘ Nos. 9 and 48 Chevrolets as Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman were each sidelined by injuries — putting Berry‘s adaptability on full display.

“He ran arguably as good or better in that short time in the two Hendrick cars that he has now — as a rookie with never even sitting in (a Next Gen car),” Wood said. “And that was a completely different manufacturer, a completely different team, a completely different crew chief. So you can’t really say it was one crew chief that made that difference.”

A crew chief for next year‘s No. 21 team with Berry has not yet been determined. Berry‘s current crew chief, Rodney Childers, has expressed a desire to stay with Berry if those opportunities exist moving forward.

“Rodney and I’ve had a great relationship, for sure, but this opportunity jumped out, and they came to me and said, ‘Hey, we want to get you signed up first,‘” Berry said. “‘We want to get our driver that we want, and then we’re going to go to work with you and whoever else that we’re going to meet with, whether that’s at Team Penske or wherever, and try to iron this out and figure out what’s the best fit.‘ That’s what I have learned this year is … how important the culture is in the fit and the belief between the driver and the crew chief, ownership, management and the team.”

Wood said sponsorship for the 2025 season is still being worked through but noted Motorcraft and Quick Lube will be back as a primary partner for roughly half the season and as an associate sponsor for the whole campaign.

“The thing that’s encouraging is people consider Josh a driver that you hire that doesn’t bring any funding. But that was past tense,” Wood said. “Like, the way he’s running, now, you don’t know what’s going to happen from this point to the end of the season that he brings some that have changed their mind that weren’t previously going to follow him that maybe do.

“But to answer that question, it has never been about a driver with funding. I know that was mentioned. But that has never been a consideration.”

Ultimately, Berry knew he was wanted as the Wood Brothers‘ next driver of its iconic No. 21 Ford, kickstarting a new chapter of the Wood Brothers‘ 70-plus year history as they seek the company‘s 100th Cup win.

“It came together quickly because they were very sure of what they wanted, and that was they wanted me to drive their race car,” Berry said. “And in this day and age, that gets harder and harder to do — you know, worrying about funding and sponsorship and everything that goes along with that. So they were they were very clear. I met with them and had something to look at within a week. And that made it pretty clear that they wanted me to drive their car, and it felt like a great fit for me.”