On Wednesday, Berry was introduced as the new full-time driver for the iconic Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford beginning with the 2025 season.
Berry, 33, will replace Harrison Burton, the 23-year-old son of former NASCAR star Jeff Burton. The younger Burton joined the Wood Brothers in 2021 and has one top-five and five top-10 finishes in 92 career starts.
“When you think of the history and legacy of NASCAR, it’s hard to not think of the Wood Brothers and the incredible impact they’ve made on the sport," said Berry in a release from the team. "It’s an honor and a privilege to be a small part of carrying on that legacy. To be able to add my name to the list of drivers who have piloted the iconic No. 21 is something I don’t take lightly.”
Berry became available after SHR co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas announced in May their plans to shutter the four-team Cup operation at the end of the 2024 season.
Haas later decided to retain one of the Cup teams and two Xfinity teams and run it under the Haas Factory Team banner in 2025.
After a successful career in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, Berry joined Stewart-Haas Racing as the full-time driver of its No. 4 Ford team this season. After a slow start, Berry is 19th in the series standings with all four of his top-10 finishes coming in the last seven races.
While Berry amassed five Xfinity wins at JRM, he also made 10 Cup starts across the 2021 and 2023 seasons – highlighted by a pair of fill-in appearances at Hendrick Motorsports when drivers Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman suffered injuries.
His career-best runner-up finish in Cup came in 2023 at Richmond, Va., while filling in for Elliott in the No. 9 Chevrolet.
A legendary race team
The Wood Brothers organization was started in 1950 by family patriarch Glen Wood, who raced on the beach in Daytona, won four races in what would become the Cup series and was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
In all, 20 of NASCAR’s Greatest Drivers have driven for Wood Brothers Racing, including Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Dale Jarrett, A.J. Foyt, Glen Wood, Buddy Baker, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, Ned Jarrett, David Pearson, Ralph Earnhardt, Neil Bonnett, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, and Bill Elliott.
Wood Brothers scored its 98th victory in the 2011 Daytona 500 with rookie Trevor Bayne and its 99th victory at Pocono in 2017 with Ryan Blaney, who now competes at Team Penske.
“Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with a multitude of successful drivers, and now having the opportunity to add Josh Berry to that list is a significant milestone for our team,” said Jon Wood, president, Wood Brothers Racing. “Josh brings a wealth of talent and determination, evident thorough his success in every level of competition, from grassroots NASCAR to present day. He fits the values of our team, and we believe that with Josh behind the wheel, we will achieve great things together on the track.”
Beginning in 2015, the Wood Brothers entered a technical alliance with Penske, which includes driver development and utilization of Penske personnel on the No. 21 team.
