Josh Berry, now steering for one of the oldest NASCAR teams, Wood Brothers Racing, sits in the playoff field but below the cut line. Ahead of the second postseason race, he joined Jeff Gluck’s 12 Questions segment and peeled back a layer of his reputation.
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Often cast as the laid-back, “happy to be here” racer because of his short-track roots, Berry pushed back on that label. “As a competitor, I’m super competitive, super motivated, and have high expectations for myself and my team,” he said.
He reminded fans that anyone who raced him on the short tracks knows how fierce he was behind the wheel and how badly he wanted to win every race. That drive, he insists, is a major reason he and his team have tasted success. And it’s the same demeanor he carries in the Cup Series as well.
The 34-year-old Hendersonville, Tennessee native added, “People get enamored with my story, that I short-track raced for so long and finally got an opportunity, and they’re like, ‘Oh, isn’t it so great to be here? You made it. You’re in the Cup Series now.’
“But I don’t view it as ‘I’m just happy to be here.’ I want to be up front. I want to be competitive.”
Berry even laughed about how that competitiveness spills over at home, especially in games with his five-year-old daughter Mackenzie. Whether it’s tic-tac-toe or a simple matching game, he admitted kids have a knack for it. “If she’s locked in and paying attention, she will take me down,” he said.
Now, with the No. 21 Ford buried at P16 in the standings and 19 points shy of advancing, Berry faces an uphill climb. Gateway and Bristol will make or break his playoff run, and with a P36 finish in one Gateway start and an average of 17.7 across three Bristol races, he knows the margin for error has all but vanished.
Berry’s playoff ticket came through a regular-season victory at Las Vegas, though his postseason hopes took an early hit with a 38th-place finish at Darlington in the Round of 16 opener. Gateway now looms as the next chance to claw his way back.
