NASCAR Cup Series full-timer Josh Berry will be seen driving for the oldest active team in the sport this year. Taking a step in his career in the sport’s top tier after his tenure with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024 and the uncertainty that came with it, Berry looks to make the most of his opportunities with Wood Brothers Racing.
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The former JR Motorsports driver in the Xfinity Series has been looking to tap into one of Wood Brother’s most valuable assets today, Roger Penske. With the team’s technical alliance to Roger Penske’s Cup Series operation, Berry looks forward to some of the performance from the three-car championship-winning operation trickling down to his #21 Ford Mustang.
“The expectation is to run like their other three race cars and that’s the fact of the matter. I’m ready to take on that and I think we all are — everybody on the 21 team is ready to get back up there and run up front and compete for wins and that’s what we’re here to do,” said the Tennessee native during a recent media interaction.
Despite being around for the longest time, Wood Brothers as a racing outfit do not have the best of performance out on track. The team clinched its milestone 100th victory with Jeff Burton last year, with no subsequent wins after that.
Now reinvigorated with a driver hungry to drive the team forward, Berry also touched on how Penske’s alliance with the team stems from his admiration of the organization rather than a pure business perspective.
“I met with him a couple times already even going back to, I think the first time was Indianapolis last year, so he’s well aware of what we have going on and is obviously a tremendous supporter of the Wood Brothers and wants to see us have success and run well just like he does with his own race cars,” he added.
How Berry could relate to Penske despite vastly different backgrounds
Despite having a vastly different background, one coming from the perspective of a team owner and another from a current driver, Berry seemingly could relate to Penske on a ground level.
Elaborating on the same, he said, “At the end of the day he’s a racer and has a tremendous legacy in this sport. When you can sit down with someone as accomplished as Roger, you listen to what he has to say and take in every part of that.”
With the first race of the points-paying season an event that Wood Brothers Racing won last year, it remains to be seen if a re-invigorated Berry can take one of NASCAR’s oldest institutions back into victory lane in 2025.
