“It’ll Be Intense”: Josh Berry Previews Upcoming Clash at Bowman Gray Amid Debut Season With Wood Brothers Racing

Josh Berry is set to test his brand new No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with Wood Brothers Racing this weekend at the Bowman Gray Stadium. The Clash will be his first race with the team, and he will hope to kick off this fresh journey on the right foot. In a recent Media Availability, he spoke about how excited he is to do so.

He noted that he has never raced at the short track thus far despite its reputation as a legendary venue and added, “I remember going there one time and watching the modified race. They were like the twin 125s or something like that. This has probably been 10-12 years ago and it was entertaining.”

He hopes that the Cup Series race will add to the many thrilling showdowns that have taken place at the Madhouse. Berry continued to detail that his expectation is for the race to be an extremely tight one. He said, “I don’t know about the fighting and everything that entails what we see during the summer there, but it’ll be intense.”

The fact that the event is a non-points-paying one will not affect his drive to win it. 2024 was a disappointing year for him with Stewart-Haas Racing. The team decided to permanently shut down before he could complete his maiden full-time season in the Cup Series. He will hope to dust off the dirt and perform at his highest level with this new chance.

Berry is grateful for landing a seat with Wood Brothers Racing

It has been a while since Wood Brothers Racing was considered a genuine contender for winning races every weekend. However, racing under its banner is still prestigious, thanks to its storied history in the sport. Also, it has an active alliance with Team Penske, making it an attractive destination for a driver like Berry.

He said, “Last year was a challenge, I think, from start to finish with everything going on … I’m proud that I did a good enough job to find myself in this opportunity and to go race for the Wood Brothers with the history they’ve had and the tradition, and obviously the alliance with Team Penske.”

Berry added that he has had fun working with his new crews and is pretty satisfied at the prospect of having two Cup Series champions, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, as his teammates. Hopefully, he will be able to capitalize on these advantages.