Was Josh Berry Filling In for Chase Elliott an Audition for Tony Stewart’s NASCAR Team?

Stewart Haas Racing had been looking for that perfect driver who would be able to carry forward the legacy set by the number 4 car of Kevin Harvick. Owing to the fact that this was Harvick’s last season in the Cup Series, SHR obviously had to find a suitable candidate and fast. Thankfully, they did find one, in the form of Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry. Berry drove so well, replacing an injured Chase Elliott, that SHR finally decided to sign him for the 2024 season.

Recently, while speaking with Mike Massaro of BVM Sports, Berry revealed if the HMS run felt like an audition before his eventual signing with SHR.

Josh Berry explains if driving for Chase Elliott felt like an audition for SHR

Berry mentioned, “Well, it was in a way. Yeah, actually I had had conversations with Stewart Haas racing before the beginning of the season. And it was just, you know sometimes in racing and motorsports it’s so, timing is so important about how things fall your way to be able to get opportunities…”

“I’ve been a great example of that for years, but not only this year with, with that, I was amidst of some conversations with Stuart Haas about the #4 car. And you know, right in the midst of that, Chase gets injured, and they choose me to drive the car. And I get that five-race stint there in the #9. Which I don’t know that that I personally he called it a, you know, if we felt like it was really an audition, but it was.”

“I didn’t I didn’t really try not to think of it that way. But I know that everyone at Stewart Haas was paying very close attention to how I would, how I did. Luckily it went well and you know, I’ll be a full-time Cup driver next year.”

Berry is to replace Kevin Harvick from 2024 onwards

One of the biggest headlines to come out of Stewart Haas Racing this year was the fact that Kevin Harvick decided to retire at the end of the season. Ever since then, there had been speculation on who would eventually carry the #4 car legacy forwards.

A little while ago, it had been announced that Chase Elliott’s replacement driver would be the one taking over Harvick’s seat starting next year. The hype around Berry had begun to form after he drove the #9 car for five races, as Elliott recovered from a broken leg.

Now, Berry would be finally starting as a full-time Cup Series driver, although in a Ford instead of the Chevy, he had become so accustomed to.