Josh Berry will take over the reins of the No. 4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024, SHR announced June 21.
Berry replaces the retiring Kevin Harvick, who will move into the broadcast booth at FOX Sports next season.
“We’re super excited to get to this moment today,” SHR co-owner Tony Stewart said during a June 21 press conference announcing the move. “This was not a big group of people we had to make a choice from. We put all our eggs in one basket, and we put them on this kid.”
SHR did not specify the length of Berry’s contract with the team, and SHR did not announce any sponsorship for the driver for 2024 at the conference.
The 32-year-old Berry moves over to SHR after a journeyman career to date. Making his name known at the grassroots level in late models, as well as making select starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2014-2017, Berry received the call to drive for JR Motorsports part time in 2021.
After winning two races during his part-time stint, Berry was rewarded with a full-time opportunity in 2022, when he won three races, made the Championship 4 and finished fourth in points.
In 2023, Berry currently sits fifth in the Xfinity points with six top fives and 10 top 10s. In 76 Xfinity starts, he has five wins, 23 top fives and 44 top 10s.
“I can’t imagine a better opportunity for me – to get in a car that’s been as successful and iconic as the No. 4,” Berry said. “Kevin is a future NASCAR Hall of Famer, and it’s going to be a challenge trying to come after someone so successful. But I know I’m going to have an amazing group of people around me, led by Rodney Childers, to where we can hit the ground running.”
In 10 seasons with SHR, Harvick won 37 races. He also captured the Cup title in his first season with the team in 2014, making the No. 4 one of the most successful rides at the Cup level in the past decade. He currently sits fifth in the Cup standings after 16 races, earning four top fives and seven top 10s.
Berry has served as a substitute at the Cup level on multiple occasions. He made two starts with Spire Motorsports in 2021 at Dover Motor Speedway and Michigan International Raceway. In 2023, Berry was called upon to fill in for the injured Chase Elliott for five races in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 9 car, where he captured two top 10s, including a runner-up finish at Richmond Raceway.
Shortly thereafter, Berry filled in for HMS driver Alex Bowman, who suffered a fractured vertebrae in a sprint car crash. Berry drove the No. 48 for three races, earning another top 10 at Dover.
Berry will have a familiar face at SHR atop the pit box, as longtime Harvick crew chief Rodney Childers will continue his role with the No. 4 team in 2024.
JRM has not yet announced a replacement for Berry in the No. 8 in the Xfinity Series.
Luken Glover joined the Frontstretch team in 2020 as a news writer before elevating to a columnist, where he served as the longtime writer for The Underdog House. Currently, he is an editor for the site and conducts feature interviews. Glover has covered several forms of racing for the site including NASCAR, CARS Tour, and SRX events.
A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a promotional writer, elementary athletic director, and basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.
Happy for him , earned the opportunity the hard way
Every long time NASCAR fan should be ecstatic about this news.
Josh Berry earned it through talent and grit. He didn’t hit shot up the ranks via daddy’s money like a Dillon or Custer or Burton or Herbst or Menard.
Best of luck to him
Or Petty, Jarrett, Earnhardt Jr, Logano, Baby Gibbs, Nemechek, Elliott, Blaney.