(Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
After making 22 starts in 2021, Josh Berry is finally a full-time driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. But, it certainly never came easy.
Berry, 31, spent many years grinding through the late model ranks with JR Motorsports to finally earn an Xfinity opportunity with the team in 2021. He had made a few NASCAR starts prior, but nothing more than two or three races a season.
JR Motorsports assigned Berry to drive their No. 8 Chevrolet for 12 of the first 15 races of the series, and he took advantage of it. In just his sixth race, Berry won a rain-delayed race at Martinsville Speedway for his first career victory.
The victory led to more opportunities in NASCAR for Berry. He made 10 Camping World Truck Series starts, nine of which for Rackley W.A.R. Racing, and two Cup Series starts for Spire Motorsports. In the summer, Berry replaced Michael Annett for five races after Annett suffered a leg injury. Berry finished top-10 four times and won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Annett’s place.
Now a full-time driver, Berry returns to Las Vegas on Saturday, hungry for another victory.
“I feel pretty good where I’m at,” Berry said in a Wednesday media teleconference.
Through two races, Berry has finishes of fourth and 16th, the former coming at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday. Including his win at Las Vegas last fall, he’s finished top-five in his last three Xfinity Series races at intermediate tracks.
“Stacking some starts at Vegas and getting some knowledge built up will be good,” Berry said. “The more I race, the more I’m going to learn.”
As he returns to tracks multiple times, Berry says his confidence and his comfort with the Xfinity car are increasing. Las Vegas is the first track he’s visiting for the third time in his NASCAR national series career.
“There’s still a big learning curve, but generally, it’s been going well,” he said. “It’s nice that we got a little bit of practice now; we can kind of run some laps, get out and talk about it with our teammates and make some small adjustments.”
Like Berry mentioned, transitioning from late models to NASCAR isn’t easy. While he has found some strong results in his short time in the Xfinity Series, he feels he has room for improvement, especially on restarts.
“It’s just a fine line of knowing when to be aggressive and when not to,” he said. “On the wider tracks, when it fans out like that, it’s just being more confident in myself and kind of going in a different lane than what is maybe the preferred lane.”
This season, Berry races alongside Sam Mayer at JR Motorsports, someone’s he’s known through late model racing. However, last season, the two split a ride. Mayer took over for Berry in the No. 8 car after Nashville Superspeedway and made 18 starts. They were almost competing with each other for the seat full time in 2022, Berry quoting an awkwardness at times between the two.
But, Annett retired from NASCAR after the 2021 season, freeing seats for both Berry and Mayer at JRM. And now that Berry has earned a full-time ride, he says he’s just trying to enjoy the journey.
“I’m trying to balance me enjoying this a little bit and trying not to put too much pressure on myself,” he said. “At the same time, I’m working hard. I want to do really well and I want to be here a long time.”
As the season progresses, Berry is hopeful to keep improving and find victory lane again. He’ll look to contend for his first series championship as a NASCAR driver.
“To pull in as a full-time driver and see my name on a hauler, that’s really special,” Berry said. “I’m excited for what the rest of the year has in store for us because I think we have a lot of potential that we can reach if we keep at it.”
