Josh Berry has looked downbeat since it was confirmed in June that he would not return to the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing next season, with Jesse Love set to replace him. Berry, meanwhile, has yet to secure another Cup Series seat. After he qualified second at New Hampshire on Saturday, August 22, veteran crew chief Rodney Childers spoke about how unfairly the garage has treated him.
Childers took to X to use a famous Kevin Harvick quote: “You can’t drive a slow car fast”. He also noted that Berry has been good with his performances since the cars got better.
Harvick made those comments after a race at the ISM Raceway near Phoenix back in 2018. He was praising his team for the car he got to drive that weekend to the pole position. Childers, however, used it to describe the fact that Berry never really had the car to make too much of an impact.
Wood Brothers Racing has struggled for speed in 2026, largely because Ford has struggled as a whole, with Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 being the notable exception. With Wood Brothers heavily reliant on Penske for its mechanical package, the team’s performance has been closely tied to Penske’s. But as Penske improved in recent races, so did Berry, according to Childers.
The results have also started to swing in Berry’s favor. He had just two top-10 finishes through the first 21 races of the season, but has matched that total in the last three weeks alone, including a fourth-place finish at the Iowa Corn 350.
He will now start the Dollar Tree 301 from second on the grid behind 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick. After getting out of his car in qualifying, he admitted that he would be hoping for his ‘phone to ring’.
PRN’s Andrew Kurland had also asked him about how not having a confirmed ride for 2027 affected him. Berry replied by telling him that it “eased his mind” a little bit.
“Not necessarily in finding opportunity, but if one doesn’t come about, I feel I’ve done all I can,” Berry said.
Thankfully for Berry, in recent days, there have been rumors of Richard Childress Racing considering a move for him. Austin Hill had initially replaced Kyle Busch in the No. 33 team car after his tragic death on May 21. But Hill may have just been a temporary fix, with Berry in line to become a permanent RCR driver.
The news is not official yet, but Berry’s qualifying performance at New Hampshire was another reminder that the Cup Series race winner still has plenty to offer, as Childers suggested.
