Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared a sobering take on Josh Berry’s NASCAR Cup Series future. Earnhardt called it an ‘unfortunate’ turn of events that led to Berry’s exit from Wood Brothers Racing.
Berry has struggled to find his footing this season. The No.21 driver has remained a fixture among the back markers with two top-10s and five DNFs in 21 starts. Amidst the rough stretch, WBR announced reigning O’Reilly champion Jesse Love as Berry’s replacement for 2027.
On the latest episode of Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt reflected on Berry’s career.
“It’s heartbreaking for me because I think of Josh as a family member,” he said.
“I do not know what has happened. I really don’t. I don’t bug Josh too much about it. I think the world of the Wood Brothers. I idolise Leonard and them, but I don’t know what has happened. It’s unfortunate because I don’t know where this goes for Josh,” Earnhardt concluded, “I don’t know what opportunities even exist.”
Josh Berry’s best results this year come from Daytona and Martinsville. The grassroots veteran finished ninth at the Great American Race and rounded out the top-10 at the short track.
In his most recent race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Berry got taken out by Christopher Bell while running a lap down.
Josh Berry ‘can’t catch a break’ this season
Josh Berry cut a despondent look after Sunday’s Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. He had top-5 pace during practice and hoped to place well in qualifying, but rain played spoilsport and cancelled the session.
Starting 28th, Berry wound up inside the top-15 before his incident with Christopher Bell. The WBR driver had a hard hit into the walls and sustained heavy damage.
Speaking to reporters post-race, the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native called it a ‘discouraging’ season so far.
“I feel like people view me completely differently after this year, compared to what I’ve done up to this point. Like I’ve said, I’ve never lived through a season like this, when it’s just one thing after another – things that people don’t see, and they don’t make it on TV, and I don’t go on social media every week and post about every little thing that went wrong in our race. We just can’t catch a break, flat out,” he said.
Josh Berry used to drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team in the O’Reilly Series before making the Cup Series. He took over Kevin Harvick’s No.4 entry at Stewart-Haas Racing and transitioned to WBR in 2025.
Berry clinched the team’s 101st win at Las Vegas and made his maiden playoff appearance last year. Tough luck followed him in the Round of 16, as he recorded three straight DNFs. The No.21 driver ended the year 16th in the standings.
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