Josh Berry appreciation thread

I heard Berry to Stewart-Haas is a done deal.
That may be true and you obviously get more information than I do.

But I don't understand why HMS would continue to career develop him with cup ride in any future races. If Berry is indeed moving on to anothrr team and brand then why not utilize someone else to develop for the long haul.
 
That may be true and you obviously get more information than I do.

But I don't understand why HMS why would continue to career develop him with cup ride in any future races. If Berry is indeed moving on to anothrr team and brand then why not utilize someone else to develop for the long haul.

Maybe because they want the best finish they can and berry will give them that.
 
That may be true and you obviously get more information than I do.

But I don't understand why HMS why would continue to career develop him with cup ride in any future races. If Berry is indeed moving on to anothrr team and brand then why not utilize someone else to develop for the long haul.

It's not like Hendrick Motorsports to operate out of spite. They don't have any open seats and likely won't have any open seats for 3-5 years.

Right now, it's in their best interest to keep Berry in the 48 car because the performance is there. He's doing what he has to do, keeping the cars in one piece, recording solid finishes (better than solid, in fact), and keeping the team alive in owner points.

Neither Brandon Jones nor Sam Mayer have shown they can produce these results or take care of their equipment.
 
I am not big on Jones or Mayer being ready for the opportunity either. But I don't think considering another option would be a spiteful move.
 
I am not big on Jones or Mayer being ready for the opportunity either. But I don't think considering another option would be a spiteful move.

I think Hendrick understands that Berry's the best option and that him going to another team is fine because there aren't any seats opening anytime soon.

As much as the internet wants to fire Alex Bowman, he's not going anywhere. The sponsors love him. Chase and WillyB aren't going anywhere. And the sponsorship the other three bring in help keep Kyle Larson in the no. 5 car.
 
I don't know why people ignore the fact that Junior himself said that if he moves to cup he does not want Josh Berry to be his driver because the cup program would have Growing Pains and it would sacrifice Berry's career...

I guarantee you Josh Berry will not drive for Junior Motorsports cup program next year unless Junior joins Stewart Haas
 
That may be true and you obviously get more information than I do.

But I don't understand why HMS would continue to career develop him with cup ride in any future races. If Berry is indeed moving on to anothrr team and brand then why not utilize someone else to develop for the long haul.

It was said in the broadcast Monday that prior to the season starting HMS signed Berry to be their lead backup driver. He's actually under contract to assist them in time of need. As of this year he is still a Chevy driver so they probably just felt him moving on didn't warrant them needing to break/buy out that contract. I'm sure they could as I bet it doesn't cost them anything, but they probably also just don't see it as that big of a deal.
 
It was said in the broadcast Monday that prior to the season starting HMS signed Berry to be their lead backup driver. He's actually under contract to assist them in time of need. As of this year he is still a Chevy driver so they probably just felt him moving on didn't warrant them needing to break/buy out that contract. I'm sure they could as I bet it doesn't cost them anything, but they probably also just don't see it as that big of a deal.
I'm surprised HMS keeps Josh in the 48 when he's going to be joining SHR next season. He'll have access to a lot of data regarding setups etc. and might take some of that knowledge to SHR. On the other hand, SHR will be extremely happy if their new driver already has experience racing the NextGen at most tracks.
Jones and Mayer probably wouldn't be ready for the job but Allgaier would be an alternative to Josh.
 
If he goes to the 4 what happens to Rodney? Has he said what his plans are? I remember when JR had him on the download he said there's nobody else he'd want to work with besides maybe Blaney.
 
If he goes to the 4 what happens to Rodney? Has he said what his plans are? I remember when JR had him on the download he said there's nobody else he'd want to work with besides maybe Blaney.

I can't remember if it was him, Zippy, or Tony but one of them said Rodney is going to continue past 2023. If Berry goes to the 4 that seems like a Rodney pick to me and I'd assume Rodney would stick with the 4 team.
 
I can't remember if it was him, Zippy, or Tony but one of them said Rodney is going to continue past 2023. If Berry goes to the 4 that seems like a Rodney pick to me and I'd assume Rodney would stick with the 4 team.
It was Rodney that said it. He's going to continue with SHR.
 
I'm surprised HMS keeps Josh in the 48 when he's going to be joining SHR next season. He'll have access to a lot of data regarding setups etc. and might take some of that knowledge to SHR. On the other hand, SHR will be extremely happy if their new driver already has experience racing the NextGen at most tracks.
Jones and Mayer probably wouldn't be ready for the job but Allgaier would be an alternative to Josh.

Ally probably wants the best available driver and that’s Josh Berry. As others have said, the HMS lineup is pretty secure for a while so they don’t really have a reason to want to develop anyone.
 
I'm glad they brought Josh in to fill in for Alex. He seems to be doing a pretty decent job as a fill in driver at HMS. But I will be glad to see Alex back in the car chasing a championship as soon as he is healed. That being said, I don't want him coming back too soon and risking more severe damage to his injury. He is still pretty young and has plenty of time left to win championships.
 
That may be true and you obviously get more information than I do.

But I don't understand why HMS would continue to career develop him with cup ride in any future races. If Berry is indeed moving on to anothrr team and brand then why not utilize someone else to develop for the long haul.
Because he's good. Rick doesn't seem that petty to me. And chances are Rick might want him back some day

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Maybe because they want the best finish they can and berry will give them that.
Exactly. They still need to keep NAPA and Ally happy. It's tough enough to break the news to a couple of your largest partners that their star brand ambassadors will be out of the car, so the best you can do is put your most talented second-stringer in their seat to salvage the situation as much as possible.
 
I'm surprised HMS keeps Josh in the 48 when he's going to be joining SHR next season. He'll have access to a lot of data regarding setups etc. and might take some of that knowledge to SHR. On the other hand, SHR will be extremely happy if their new driver already has experience racing the NextGen at most tracks.
Jones and Mayer probably wouldn't be ready for the job but Allgaier would be an alternative to Josh.
He doesn't necessarily have lots of setup data. They can be using his feedback about how the car drives and tweaking on it, but without disclosing the exact changes.
 
If its like most things in racing whatever data you have now will be outdated in 6 months anyway

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I guess Josh either has a photographic memory or he carries around a notepad and frantically writes it all down and feeds it into a Chevy to Ford setup compiler.
 
Berry won’t be leaving HMS with setup sheets or any other intellectual property.

Data fragments carried around in a driver’s head will not transfer to advantage from one team to another on a different day.

HMS is completely unconcerned for a reason.
 
Exactly. They still need to keep NAPA and Ally happy. It's tough enough to break the news to a couple of your largest partners that their star brand ambassadors will be out of the car, so the best you can do is put your most talented second-stringer in their seat to salvage the situation as much as possible.
Berry honestly doesn’t just salvage good runs for Ally, he’s leading laps and running up front and giving them a shot at a win.

I’m sure they would rather see their car out front than running in 30th with Brandon Jones or Matt Crafton.
 
Just got home and saw the news. I dont blame Josh for taking that ride its just really surprising to me that Chevy and Jr didnt have a plan for him. Reminds me of Jeff Gordon/Bill Davis in reverse
 
Just got home and saw the news. I dont blame Josh for taking that ride its just really surprising to me that Chevy and Jr didnt have a plan for him. Reminds me of Jeff Gordon/Bill Davis in reverse
Still might. I can see him potentially coming back if the situation is right. I think Rick and Jr are good enough people not to stand in the way of an opportunity like that.

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Still might. I can see him potentially coming back if the situation is right. I think Rick and Jr are good enough people not to stand in the way of an opportunity like that.

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Agreed. If they couldnt put him in a ride I'm sure they totally understand. SHR got a good one
 
Where is it saying that Berry to the 4 is a done deal? I can’t find it anywhere
 
Just got home and saw the news. I dont blame Josh for taking that ride its just really surprising to me that Chevy and Jr didnt have a plan for him. Reminds me of Jeff Gordon/Bill Davis in reverse

More comparable to Hendrick letting Brad Keselowski go to Penske. I don’t see Josh Berry being Jeff Gordon.
 
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