Josh Berry during the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
LEBANON, Tenn. – Josh Berry secured a fifth place finish Saturday afternoon during the Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Berry had a rough qualifying session Saturday morning, qualifying 23rd with a lap time of 31.229. However, he did not struggle with speed for long after the start of the Tennessee Lottery 250.
The 32-year-old finished just outside the top 10 for Stage 1 before driving his way to an eighth place in Stage 2 and taking the checkered flag in the fifth position.
As a result, Berry is currently fifth in the point standings after Saturday’s race with seven top fives and four top 10s. Halfway through the season, Berry trails John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, and Cole Custer for the regular season championship.
This race was also notable for the Hendersonville, Tennessee native not only because it was a home track race, but because this was the first race since it was announced on Wednesday that he would be leaving JR Motorsports to take over the No. 4 car at Stewart Haas Racing for Kevin Harvick at the end of this season.
Berry first began driving late models for JR Motorsports in 2010, working his way up to select Xfinity Series starts in 2014 before his first, full-time season in 2022.
Life has been good for Josh Berry this past week. (Photo: Eric Parks | The Podium Finish)
There has been a lot of speculation about who would take over the No. 4 car for the 2024, but Berry was very happy when it was officially announced this week that he would be the driver for this car next season.
FOX NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass interviewed Berry after the announcement, reflecting on what this career milestone meant for Berry.
“It’s been an amazing day,” he said. “Just so exciting. I feel like it’s been a little bit of a long time coming, just waiting for this day to come. It started off a little emotional going to JR Motorsports and talking with Dale, Kelly and everyone in the company, you know after a lot of great memories I’ll be moving onto the Cup Series.
“[I am] definitely excited about 2024 and to have the opportunity in front of me to join Stewart-Haas Racing and drive the 4 car. It’s a best case scenario for a guy like me.”
Aside from his experience in the Xfinity Series, Josh Berry has also gotten more preparation to take over the No. 4 next season by filling in for Chase Elliott in the No. 9 car while Elliott was sidelined due to a broken tibia sustained in a snowboarding accident in March.
During his stint driving the No. 9, Berry had extremely impressive results for limited experience with the Next Gen car, including a second place finish at Richmond on April 2. Most recently, he filled in for Alex Bowman when he fractured his vertebrae in a sprint car race crash in April.
It appears Josh Berry has a very notable talent at learning, especially in a different environment. At this rate, he may have a lot of people taking notice of him into next season when he embarks in his maiden full-time Cup Series season.
Before he can consider the opportunity of a lifetime, he has some unfinished business with the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet with JR Motorsports.
