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NASCAR Ford Rookie Josh Berry Shows Promise After 20 Races

Josh Berry had some big shoes to fill when he signed on to drive the No. 4 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse in 2024, replacing stock car racing legend Kevin Harvick after his retirement upon conclusion of the 2023 season. So far, Berry has proven worthy of the number heading into his 20th Cup Series start at Martinsville on April 7th, building momentum with eyes on the 2024 Playoffs, according to a report from NASCAR.com.

During the Easter Sunday race at Richmond, Berry mirrored Harvick’s legendary success at the short track, surging into the top five early in the race and keeping pace with the leaders. Unfortunately, a mistake on Berry’s part during a pit stop in Stage 3 did him in, relegating him to a disappointing, but still impressive, 11th-place finish. However, Berry says it’s all part of learning the ins and outs of the Cup Series and building a relationship with crew chief Rodney Childers.

“It’s just a little bit of momentum building,” Berry said in an interview. “I think [Childers and I are] working together, figuring each other out a little bit more. I’m getting more comfortable getting reacclimated to the Next Gen car, but more than anything, I think we’ve just had good cars the last couple weeks. I feel like, especially at the short tracks. It’s just going to take time.”

Last year, Berry subbed for the injured Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Chevy Camaro ZL1 at Richmond, wheeling his borrowed race car to a second-place finish. Heading into Martinsville, that experience could prove invaluable, and Childers is confident that Berry has what it takes despite the mistake at Richmond.

“It’s part of that learning curve and figuring this stuff out, and what can we help him with on all those kinds of things – reminders and different things like that. But he was awesome all night,” Childers said of Berry’s Richmond run. “It was like a roadblock, but overall, he did a great job.”

We’ll have more racing news soon, so subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford racing newsNASCAR news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.

Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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