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Josh Berry will reportedly replace Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024

JHby:Jonathan Howard•06/19/23•

Jondean25

Josh Berry Portland
(Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

After weeks of speculation and rumors, Josh Berry to Stewart-Haas Racing is almost finalized and ready to go, official. A report from Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut has put those rumors to bed as an official announcement is expected to come later this week ahead of the NASCAR Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Weaver’s report claims that Stewart-Haas Racing is ready to make the announcement this Wednesday. Kevin Harvick is retiring after this season. There has been a lot of hand-wringing about who will replace The Closer.

After his stellar performances filling in for Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman this season, Josh Berry is the clear answer. Just a couple of days away and the JR Motorsports driver will have a full-time Cup ride for 2024.

In addition to being the next driver in the SHR stable, Berry has also signed with KHI Management, which was founded by Harvick. The Xfinity Series regular has made his own path in NASCAR. When he was a bank teller in Tennessee running dirt races, I’m sure he dreamed of days like this.

It felt like Josh Berry would get a Cup Series shot eventually. However, his work with Hendrick Motorsports solidified him as a top free agent this season. Rodney Childers is expected to remain the crew chief for the No. 4 team.

Josh Berry proved himself this season

The move up to Stewart-Haas Racing is a big move for Berry. While he got his time in the Cup Series this year with Hendrick, there will be work to do with his new team. The Fords as a whole have struggled in the Next Gen era. Then again, Joey Logano won the championship in 2022, so maybe it is more overblown than the reality of the situation.

For Josh Berry, it has to be hard to focus on your Xfinity Series season when you have all of this other stuff going on. He had to pull double duty for multiple weeks. Earned a P2 finish at Richmond behind Kyle Larson. Posted multiple top-10s.

Meanwhile, in his full-time series, Berry sits fifth in the points. There is a 53-point gap to the rest of the top-5 and Berry doesn’t have a win this season. JR Motorsports as a whole has been struggling compared to last year. However, that could change as the second half of the season rolls around.

This is the first free agency move of the 2023-2024 “offseason.” It will likely set the tone for the rest of the Cup Series teams as they make driver decisions for next year. This might not be the only SHR addition as Aric Almirola has been rumored to retire after this season.