Rodney Childers to meet with Wood Brothers Racing for Josh Berry crew chief position

Next season Josh Berry is taking over the wheel of the iconic Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford, but is Rodney Childers joining him? Right now, the NASCAR driver does not have a crew chief for 2025.

It felt like Josh Berry and Rodney Childers would be a package deal. Now, it’s not so clear. With Wood Brothers Racing acting as a fourth Team Penske car, there are people in place in those organizations already.

Could it be an internal hire? Penske has a ton of resources. Or will Childers be given the reigns of the 21?

Josh Berry spoke on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about his crew chief situation.

“First and foremost that decision is ultimately going to be the Wood Brothers’ and Team Penske’s. They’re gonna look internally and maybe externally for maybe what’s going to be the best fit for this program to work alongside with the 2 car, the 12 car, the 22 car. But I’ve had a great relationship with Rodney Childers and Rodney is going to meet with them and it’s going to come down to all of those things put together,” Berry explained. “Everyone deserves a fair opportunity at it. I know that they’re going to flip through it and talk amongst themselves to make the best decision and really that’s what it’s going to come down to.

“For me, they were very clear, before we started those discussions, they wanted my commitment to drive the race car. That way they knew who the driver was going to be. That way they can go to work and put the personnel around me that I need to be successful. Honestly, I feel like that’s a pretty fair approach when you think about it.

“So, that was where their mindset is,” Berry continued. “We haven’t had a ton of discussions about that but now that I’m going to be the driver of the 21, we’ve announced that, we’re going to move forward in those discussions with whoever Team Penske and the Wood Brothers feel like we need to talk to and they’ll make the best decision for me and I’m confident in that.”

Rodney Childers is a great crew chief. Josh Berry is a very talented driver. Together they have been able to find speed when others in the organization have failed. Does that mean we will see them back together in 2025?

While it would be great, there are a lot of talented people at Team Penske. It is good news that Childers is getting a meeting with Wood Brothers Racing, at least. The duo could still be together if all goes well.