- Name
- Josh Berry
- Birth Date
- Oct. 22, 1990
- Hometown
- Hendersonville, Tenn.
Josh Berry's first full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series netted the 32-year-old driver three wins -- and 100 with JR Motorsports when combined with his Late Model triumphs -- as well as a berth in the NXS Championship race that resulted in a fourth-place finish in the final series standings. That's not bad for a driver with just 62 career starts in NASCAR's second-ranking division.
After a partial season in the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in 2021, Berry moved to full-time status in 2022 after earning a pair of victories and several strong runs. Veteran crew chief Mike Bumgarner knew first-hand how good his new driver was, as Berry subbed for the injured Michael Annett in the NXS Playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and won the race with a late drive to the front.
The two combined in 2022 to earn three victories—at Dover and Charlotte in the spring and again at Las Vegas in the fall. The latter triumph at LVMS came in the NXS Playoffs, and earned the No. 8 Tire Pros team a berth in the Championship 4.
For the season, Berry’s three victories led a stat line that included 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes, and the Tennessee native led a career-best 356 laps.
The victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May was significant in that it was the first victory for JR Motorsports at the hometown track in its history. Berry waged a tense battle with teammate Justin Allgaier for the win.
On road courses, Berry was exceptional in earning a pair of top-five finishes and four top-10s in six starts, the best a third-place run at Road America. He was fourth in the inaugural event at Portland International Raceway.
In the championship event at Phoenix, Berry battled for the win with teammates and fellow title contenders Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson in the late stages, but ultimately settled for fourth in the final standings.
Berry made major strides in 21 NXS starts in 2021 – including 17 for JRM - scoring an impressive two wins, six top five and 12 top 10s. The first of his victories came at a familiar place to the then-31-year-old driver - Martinsville Speedway last April. The win marked the first for Berry in his NXS career, his first driving the No. 8 and the first there for JRM.
Berry followed up the win at Martinsville with runner-up efforts at Darlington Raceway and Dover International Speedway before returning to Victory Lane a second time in September at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a fill-in role. His effort advanced the No. 1 team into the Round of 8 for the owner’s title.
In the midst of his NXS success, Berry competed periodically across all three of NASCAR’s major touring series in 2021, including making his Cup Series debut at Dover in May.
The Tennessee native entered the 2021 season fresh off a record-breaking 2020 Late Model run that culminated in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship. He is also the first driver in JRM history to have earned multiple championships for the team.
But it almost didn’t happen. Initially, the 12-year veteran of JRM’s Late Model program did not intend to race for the NASCAR title when the season began, having committed to chasing the CARS Tour LMSC championship that escaped him by a single point in 2019. An early-season dust-up at Ace Speedway changed all that and put Berry in position to go for the NASCAR Weekly Series championship.
Once the decision was made, Berry took to it with a will. The results were spectacular. One season after dominating the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville—leading every lap from the pole and setting a track record in qualifying—Berry posted 27 victories in 40 starts, including the $30,000-to-win Old North State Nationals in the CARS Tour to cap a season for the ages.
Berry continued his dominance of Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway, winning 14 races there over the season, including the 150-lap Fall Brawl late in the season.
Southern National Motorsports Park in North Carolina was another favorite track for Berry, who captured seven more victories there. Late in the season, Berry went where his chief rival for the national championship, Peyton Sellers, was running in an effort to limit the latter’s points potential, and it worked. Beginning Sept. 19, Berry went on a tear, winning an 80-lap event at Hickory and then sweeping the twin 40-lap features at Southern National the following day. In the two weekends that followed, Berry swept four races in Virginia—with Sellers in the field. The first two were twin 60-lap features at Dominion Raceway on Sept. 26 and the second pair were twin 50-lap mains at Langley (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 3, adding a feature win at Southern National the day after.
That left the Fall Brawl at Hickory for his 24th triumph, and the following day Berry easily swept 40-lap twin features at Southern National to lock up the title. The next weekend, Berry returned to the CARS Tour and dominated the season-ending Old North State Nationals at South Carolina’s Greenville-Pickens Speedway, banking the $30,000 winner’s prize.
In 2022, Berry made five starts in the Late Model for JRM, winning four times. The fourth win came Nov. 26 at Southern National in the annual Thanksgiving Classic. His victory was worth $50,000 and was his 95th in the Late Model for JRM. Combined with his five NXS triumphs, Berry now has 100 career victories for JR Motorsports.
Berry is also the career leader in victories in the CARS LMSC division and is at or near the top in most career categories for the series including money won, poles, top-five finishes, laps led and average start.
Berry claimed the first traveling series championship of his career in 2017, winning the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Series crown in his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. After claiming track titles at Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia in 2012 and at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway in 2014, Berry logged six victories in his 22 starts, four of them in the CARS Tour. Berry swept the series races at Concord (March and August), and added victories at Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway and Tri-County (N.C.) Speedway. Berry won his second Bobby Isaac Memorial trophy at Hickory and capped the 2017 season with a victory in the Myrtle Beach 400, giving him another crown jewel in the sport.
Following up a 10-victory season in 2015, the Tennessee native rolled to Victory Lane 14 times in 2016, including five victories in the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car series. The victories added to his total as the all-time leader in CARS LMSC victories, and his triumph in the final race of the season, at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, N.C., earned Berry and his No. 88 team the car owner title for the series. He finished third in the driver championship after missing a race to drive one of JRM’s NXS machines at Iowa Speedway in July.
In 2016’s 24 starts, Berry won five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series events as well, including the annual Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway. Between the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Berry won 24 races in 48 starts, with 30 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes.
Berry began his racing career at age eight, competing in the Tennessee Karting Association before progressing to the highly-acclaimed World Karting Association in 2001. Following several seasons racing go-karts, Berry and his father made the decision to progress his career to U.S. Legend Cars in 2006. Over the course of three years, Berry collected 21 feature victories and track championships at the famed Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn.
Berry was tabbed by team-owner Earnhardt Jr. in 2010 and joined the JRM Late Model program that spring. In only a year, he was named Late Model Most Popular Driver by Speed51.com. Berry leveraged the popularity into on-track success in 2012, taking home track-champion honors in the NWAAS at Motor Mile Speedway. His dominating season included one win, 15 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 18 races.