Fire on Thursdays: What Rides Are Even Still Open for Josh Berry?

It came as a surprise to many when Josh Berry announced on Wednesday (June 10) he would be leaving Wood Brothers Racing, a team he has raced and won with for the last year and a half, at the end of this 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.

And that’s probably for a number of reasons.

For one, Berry’s performance with Wood Brothers arguably hasn’t been one that would warrant a sacking. In only his fifth race with the team last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the then 34-year-old earned his first career Cup win in impressive fashion. It was the first for WBR at a non-drafting track in eight years.

In the rest of 2025, the Tennessee native picked up an additional seven top 10 finishes. That included two more top-five results; more than Harrison Burton, the previous driver of the No. 21, had earned in three years combined. That’s also not including the additional two top-10 finishes Berry has claimed so far in 2026.

So, suffice it to say, if the Wood Brothers are canning their newest driver because of his performance, they must have some serious faith in their equipment.

Secondly, as we approach the halfway point of the season, the musical chairs of silly season have already seen a few drivers take seats, leaving only a few rides that Berry would realistically compete for. To announce his departure this early in the season may be a sign that the late model champion isn’t too sure of where he’ll end up in 2027.

And with not much left available, neither do we.

Front Row Motorsports

It would make sense for Berry to stay with a Ford team in his Cup future seeing as how he has been with the manufacturer for two and a half years. Not to mention, the entry he drove in his rookie season for Stewart-Haas Racing now belongs to Bob Jenkins and the FRM group. It may not be a team upgrade, but it’s probably a parallel one making Berry a little more fitting to hire.

On top of this, the team may have an open seat available next year. While Zane Smith‘s contract has another year and Todd Gilliland is expected to return to his No. 34 ride, Noah Gragson‘s future is less certain.

The No. 4 entry hasn’t performed as well as its other two sister teams in the last year and a half. Gragson has only garnered a single top-five result in his time in the car and currently sits 29th in the season standings with very little chance of making this year’s postseason Chase.

However, even if FRM is not looking to extend Gragson’s contract for next year, Berry still likely isn’t at the top of its list of prospects. Layne Riggs has been the lead driver of FRM’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program with eight wins for the organization in the last three years and is in prime contention to win this year’s championship. Unless Ford begins to rebuild its support for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and create a ride for Riggs in 2027, Berry likely will be behind him in line.

Team Penske

Perhaps not as likely, but not out of the question, is the idea of Berry being promoted to the ranks of Team Penske. While Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney‘s contracts are safe for multiple years, Austin Cindric‘s entry has come into question after his father Tim Cindric was let go from the team’s Presidential role and his contract has yet to be renewed for 2027.

Additionally, Logano and Blaney’s performance has greatly overshadowed that of Austin Cindric. While Blaney has won multiple races and currently ranks third in the Cup standings and Logano has nine top fives and a victory at Texas Motor Speedway in the last year and a half, Cindric has only earned three top fives. Berry’s has not been any more impressive, however the No. 21 has put up equal stats with Cindric in lesser equipment.

It would also not be the first time a driver from WBR has been promoted into the Team Penske ranks. Blaney himself was brought into the Penske garage one year after winning with WBR in 2018. With no feeder team within the O’Reilly Series, Penske does not have a pipeline to choose from for its Cup team that may challenge Berry’s bid, either.

What goes against Berry’s chances, however, is Tim Cindric was hired back into the Penske camp as an IndyCar team strategist, the equivalent to a crew chief in NASCAR. Austin Cindric still has family ties among the leadership of Penske and, to his credit, more wins than Berry in his Cup career.

Kaulig Racing

When it comes to OEM hindrances, no team is less restricted than Kaulig Racing. In 2026, the team enters five full-time Truck Series teams under the Dodge RAM banner while simultaneously enters two full-time Cup teams under Chevrolet. Berry may be a veteran driver that Kaulig will need to kickstart its transition to Dodge in the Cup Series whenever that happens.

Additionally, both of the team’s Cup drivers have questions marks next to their 2027 plans. At 44 years old, AJ Allmendinger is reaching the twilight of his NASCAR career and does not have a contract beyond 2026. A switch to Dodge power for Kaulig has reduced, if not done rid of entirely, Chevrolet support on the Cup side. That also includes the support from the Chevrolet powered Richard Childress Racing, whose namesake is the grandfather of the team’s second driver Ty Dillon.

In other words, there may be two cars open for Berry to fill by the end of the year when it comes to Kaulig Racing. The bad news for Berry, however, is Kaulig has four full-time younger drivers to choose from within its Truck Series garage to promote if it chooses.

Hendrick Motorsports

Berry’s NASCAR origins began with him being given an O’Reilly Series ride by JR Motorsports, an O’Reilly affiliate team of Hendrick Motorsports, where he won a handful of races before being promoted to Cup with SHR in 2024, meaning Berry was at one point within the feeder system for the prestigious HMS.

While there, he performed, and impressed, in a Cup Series audition within HMS equipment when he filled in for an injured Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman in 2023. While subbing for Elliott at Richmond Raceway in April, Berry narrowly missed out on what would have been a major upset win by finishing second to Kyle Larson in only his sixth Cup start.

It’s not a secret that Bowman is currently in the midst of what is a contract year to drive the No. 48, either, and while it is possible that HMS can resign the Arizona native, it is not viewed as likely. However, Berry is not at the top of that list to take the No. 48 ride, either.

Like the other teams, Berry would have to compete with a pipeline of drivers that HMS currently fields in both JR Motorsports and its own NOAPS team. As the rumors suggest, Corey Day, HMS’ current O’Reilly driver, is near the top of the list as a candidate to take the No. 48 ride. Alongside him, however, is another Cup regular in Connor Zilisch, who is currently under contract with Trackhouse Racing and may be bought out of his Trackhouse contract in favor of the better performing No. 48.

Because of this, while not impossible, it’s unlikely that Berry is being considered by HMS.

A Step Down to O’Reilly

Perhaps the most realistic is Berry returning to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. With his success in the second-tier series with JRM, he may be viewed upon as a very attractive hire among many of the NOAPS teams and their lack of charter restrictions.

The question is who would pick him up?

It’s not out of the question to assume JR Motorsports is taking a look at Berry considering the positive relationship he and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. have. Among the five teams JRM fields, four of them are full time, and one of those features a rotation of drivers. Another one is driven by Justin Allgaier, who turned 40 years old only four days ago. While Allgaier may not be retiring at the end of the year, JRM will need a driver to become the driving elder among the team in the future. Berry seems like the perfect fit for that role.

As for other teams, it isn’t likely Berry will enter with any Ford team considering the OEM’s lack of support in the series. Among the many Chevrolet teams, however, Berry will certainly be a top free agent. However, few of those teams will offer the same amount of success and prestige as Berry has in the Cup Series.

Nowhere at all?

The unfortunate answer.

While Berry has plenty of experience and has been a treat to see as a rags-to-riches story in the last few years, there is a possibility he may not have anything lined up in 2027. Though he’ll certainly have offers from smaller teams within the O’Reilly and Truck Series who will need an experienced driver to take of their equipment, it may not be favorable for Berry, who has won at the highest level of stock car racing and is a multi-time late model champion to boot.

Instead, Berry may enjoy a return to late model racing where he has won races and championships while perhaps taking the occasional part-time ride in one of the three NASCAR series.