Rodney Childers reacts to Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing announcement

Josh Berry is officially joining Wood Brothers Racing for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, unveiled Wednesday as the driver of the iconic No. 21 car.

With Stewart-Haas Racing closing its doors after the 2024 season, Berry was in search of a new full-time ride and found it at WBR. Whether his current crew chief, Rodney Childers, joins him and the No. 21 team remains to be seen, as WBR said it will announce who will be atop Berry’s pit box at a later date. The possibility does exist that the Berry/Childers relationship is one and done, but Childers’ feeling towards Berry hasn’t changed.

He believes in him and knows he has a bright future ahead.

“I can’t even explain how happy I am for @joshberry.. He has worked his butt off for a long time to get this opportunity,” Childers wrote on X. “This 4 team takes great gratitude in being a part of showing the world what he can do. He’s a winner and has a huge future.”

Josh Berry ready to prove himself once more at Wood Brothers Racing

Berry and Childers have formed a close bond in their first season together and have continued to improve as the season has gone on. Berry is 19 races through his first full-time season in the Cup Series and has tallied four top 10s and two top 5s, finishing a season-high P3 at Darlington and New Hampshire. All of his top-10 finishes have come in his last seven starts.

WBR currently operates as a one-car team and shares a technical alliance with Team Penske. David Pearson brought success to the team in the 1970s, winning 43 races during his tenure in the No. 21 car. It’s been far from smooth sailing since. A host of drivers have come through since, but the team has fallen on hard times since the turn of the century. Since Elliott Sadler’s win in 2001, WBR has compiled just two victories. Its most recent victory came in 2017 when Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag at Pocono. WBR is still looking for its landmark 100th Cup Series win.

“I feel like [WBR] are getting somebody that is not going to quit,” Berry said. “I’ve worked way too hard at this, and I’ve done it for so long that you can’t beat somebody that gets up, and I’ve had to grind it out for years to get to this point. I feel like I’ve proven myself over and over again. I feel like I’m ready for this challenge.”