The Wood Brothers have been a major part of NASCAR since nearly the beginning, and they have long been a successful team. The historic Wood Brothers Racing team has not quite had the same success in the last several decades as they are certainly far from Championship contention.
Even before they can even think about that, the team needs to find a way to get back to contending for race wins. The team has had plenty of talent step behind the wheel of the famed No. 21 Ford Mustang, but they haven’t sniffed victory lane since 2017.
Ryan Blaney who has gone on to win over 10 races with Team Penske and last year’s Cup Championship was the last driver to take Wood Brothers Racing to Victory Lane.
For the longest time, the Wood Brothers weren’t a full-time cup team, that was until Blaney drove for them. For many years the No. 21 only showed up to certain races. Since the creation of the charter system, WBR has run full-time, but Blaney’s win at Pocono in 2017 has been the only win for the team.
Harrison Burton, son of Jeff Burton has been the driver for the No. 21 team for the past couple of seasons, but Wood Brothers Racing has already made it clear, that they will be going a different direction in 2025. They will turn to Josh Berry for next season, the team made official before the race weekend in Chicago.
The real question is can Berry get Wood Brothers Racing back to a competitive level?
Can Wood Brothers Racing Get Back to Competitive Level With Josh Berry?
Berry has spent his rookie season piloting the No. 4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, but as everyone knows that organization will be closing its doors after the season. So Berry had to explore elsewhere, and he has found his new home.
WBR has opened its arms graciously, and it appears that the pairing could be beneficial. The team needs something good to happen as they have had a difficult time trying to stay as competitive as possible in the Cup Series.
Since Blaney left the team before 2018, they have filled the seat with the likes of Paul Menard, Matt DiBenedetto, and Harrison Burton. Of those three DiBenedetto had the best season as he nearly won on a handful of occasions.
The team certainly deserves more than it has gotten in the last several years.
When announcing Berry as the next driver of the No. 21 team president Jon Wood told Motorsport.com’s Jim Utter, that they need to be and should be better.
“We need to be better. There’s no secret in that,” Wood said. “This is a business that’s based on chemistry and it’s a sport that’s based on results and, right now, we’re just not having those results.”
Wood continued by addressing that it is by no means Harrison’s fault. “We’re not here to sat this one is at fault or that one is at fault, we’re just not where we need to be. Finding that right chemistry and balance to have those results in performance, that’s what we’re looking for.”
https://youtu.be/nc-l_ygOtZs?si=eHGFrJ8KI6b7Rs1z
Why Josh Berry?
Berry has showcased his natural racing ability throughout his racing career. That includes racing in the late models, and up into the NASCAR Xfinity Series where he excelled for JR Motorsports.
Berry has also built up plenty of Cup experience especially in 2022 when he served as the back-up driver for several different organizations, including Hendrick Motorsports. During that time he also got his career-best finish of second at Richmond Raceway while driving Chase Elliott’s No. 9 car.
That is what led to him getting the No. 4 car full-time this season. While SHR has struggled for years now, Berry has been giving it his all to try and help the team compete for wins, and that looks to be why he could be the guy to get Wood Brothers Racing back to their competitive and winning culture.
Berry spoke about his new opportunity, and how thankful he has been for the journey to get to this point.
“I’ve just been very thankful and very fortunate to have a lot of great people behind me that have given me opportunities, but also opportunities that have provided results and allowed me to continue on this path,” Berry said. “It’s been a lot going on the last few years. Now I have a new opportunity ahead of me for next year, which I’m really excited for. I think it’s a great fit for me. I have a great opportunity to come in here and help be a part of getting them back to running where they want to run and where they expect to run, and I have the same expectations.”
Win No. 100 Would Mean a lot
As of now, Wood Brothers Racing sits at 99 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series. They likely won’t get it this season with Burton, but next, who knows? Berry will take over as the driver of the No. 21 just in time for the team’s 75th season in NASCAR.
Historic moments typically take place for the best teams in the sport in anniversary seasons, so winning the 100th race in the 75th year of Wood Brothers Racing, would truly mean a lot for both Berry and the team. It’s still too early to tell if he can be the guy, but he’s done a lot with less thus far in his cup career.
