Few NASCAR drivers are on the hot seat like Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry. The driver once hand-picked to compete for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the late model rankings is now a Cup Series racer.
However, with a difficult start to the 2026 season, Wood Brothers Racing is replacing Berry with 2025 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love in the famed No. 21 Ford.
Despite the news, Berry has to trek on. At Iowa Speedway on Sunday, Berry finally returned to his true form. The No. 21 team ran strong throughout the 350-lap event, eventually finishing fourth for the team’s first top five in 2026.
“I feel like everybody on the No. 21 car did a really good job all weekend,” Berry said. “We just unloaded good. I felt like we left a little bit out there for qualifying, and definitely had great long run pace throughout the race. Just needed it to run long enough to show it, and we were finally able to do that and overcome a lot of things.
“Didn’t have a great day on pit road, struggled a little bit firing off. But once we got going, I felt like we were really good and definitely a good day.
“I love coming here. It makes it easy when your cars drive like they did this weekend, and we’ve just got to keep pushing. I think we’ve got a lot of good tracks coming up. Excited to get to Richmond next week and keep going after these good finishes.”
Berry’s top five is his first since a runner-up finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last fall.
Berry’s 2026 Struggles
âI feel like people view me completely differently after this year, compared to what Iâve done up to this point,” Berry said. “Like Iâve said, Iâve never lived through a season like this, when itâs just one thing after another⦠We just canât catch a break, flat out.â
This essentially sums up Berry’s 2026 campaign after a successful first two years in the Cup Series, one with Stewart-Haas Racing and the other with the Wood Brothers.
Despite winning with Wood Brothers Racing last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Berry’s results have declined dramatically.
Of course, Ford overall is struggling as a manufacturer in 2026 with the exception of Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. But Berry’s struggles are immense, sitting 30th in the standings with just five drivers behind him. His 25.5 average finish is also on pace to be a career-low.
Berry’s Future
There are few openings for Berry in 2027, which presents a major problem for a Cup Series winner, who also grinded his way to the pinnacle of the sport.
Berry is not the type of driver who will take a non-competitive seat, which removes the possibility of him going to teams in the back of the field. Though unlikely, he could take over the No. 33 car for Richard Childress Racing if the team somehow or another opts to not sign Austin Hill to drive the car going forward.
If Ty Dillon unexpectedly leaves Kaulig Racing due to the team’s swap to Dodge, Berry could wind up there. Other than that, the Cup field appears to be set for 2027.
Most likely, though, Berry could go back to the O’Reilly Series in 2027, compete for a championship and reestablish himself as a driver who can win races week-in and week-out before what is expected to be a busy 2027 free agency season.
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