MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 22, 2023) — With the announcement of his ascension to the NASCAR Cup Series for 2024, Josh Berry is the epitome of what JR Motorsports was founded to do.
Created as a vehicle to take aspiring NASCAR drivers, crew chiefs, mechanics and front office staff to the highest levels of the sport by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, the organization has been quite successful in fulfilling that mission, sending drivers like William Byron and Noah Gragson to the big leagues in just the past few seasons.
Berry’s journey took a little longer, but it was from the ground up…literally.
Berry joined JRM in 2010 as the full-time driver for the company’s legacy Late Model team and along with team manager Bryan Shaffer, built it into a regional force. In the 10 seasons that followed, Berry won 95 Late Model races, including the 2019 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the crown jewel of the sport in the Southeast.
He also won two Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car drivers’ championships and an owners’ title in 2016. The solo owner’s title came after Berry missed a race to drive for JRM in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, something he had done on several occasions.
In 2020, Berry went on a tear, winning 27 races across the Southeast on the way to his first NASCAR Weekly Series National Championship, the first and only such title in JRM history.
It was on Media Day for the Weekly Series title that Berry’s big break came, in the form of a phone call from Dale while live on SiriusXM, informing him that the title had earned him a partial season at the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet for the 2021 NXS.
Berry did not wait long to prove that the Earnhardts’ trust was well-placed, winning at Martinsville in just his sixth start of the season. He would win another race, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, later in the season while driving in relief of the injured Michael Annett and very nearly won at Michigan International Speedway midway through the summer in the same role.
In 2022, Berry started the season as a legitimate contender for the series championship and won three times on the way to a berth in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway, eventually finishing fourth in the overall NXS standings.
On Wednesday, at a team meeting prior to the announcement that Berry would take over Kevin Harvick’s ride for 2024, Earnhardt Jr., Earnhardt Miller and Senior VP of Motorsports L.W. Miller reflected upon his journey and JRM’s intended role in the sport.
“This is a big day for Josh and for everybody at this company,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We are in a really unique position as a company…It’s kind of like a family, has a family vibe to it, and the consequences of that is, you do build strong relationships with people.
“Our business, it’s sort of in the middle. We’re a pathway for people to realize that dream of making it to the big time. Josh is the 10th driver that is going to the Cup Series from JR Motorsports. We’ve had crew chiefs, engineers, you name the position and we’ve been able to help people from our organization get to that top level.”
The company was founded as a vehicle to send drivers from the grassroots to the big-time, and Berry joins elite company in moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr. added.
“It’s sort of tough sometimes to see people move on, but we look at this as a victory,” he said. “I look at it like us winning a race. We chase trophies every week, chase championships, but I don’t know of more ultimate success than seeing someone graduate out of here to the top. I really don’t. I don’t know that I get more ultimate satisfaction out of anything that we do than seeing someone come through our organization (to the top level).”
Berry and Earnhardt Jr. met online, racing in the early days of what is now the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series and out of that early relationship, a NASCAR Cup Series driver was born.
“Everybody knows Josh’s story,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He’s worked really hard to get these opportunities. This moment for me is about all of the people here who made these opportunities happen. Without all the hard work, these opportunities don’t exist. It’s a big, big day for us, and this is absolutely what we exist for, to create these opportunities for people like Josh.”
For Berry, the announcement was the beginning of yet another chapter in motorsports for the 32-year-old Tennessee native.
“This is an exciting day, an emotional day for me. It’s been a crazy journey over the past 10 years, and JRM has helped build me into the person that I am. This isn’t goodbye, we still have a lot of racing to do this year and we’re going to try and get some wins this year.”