Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Prized Pupil To Continue Cup Series Journey With Gene Haas After SHR Dismantling, Claims NASCAR Insider

The story of Stewart-Haas Racing in the past couple of weeks has been interesting, to say the least. Initially, the plan was for the organization to pull out of the NASCAR scene in its entirety. However, things changed and Gene Haas elected to retain one solitary Cup charter.

Unfortunately, it does mean that three drivers will be left at the job center. One of them, Chase Briscoe, recently took himself off the market with his deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. However, that leaves Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece in the lurch.

However, it isn’t just the drivers who are on the chopping block at the end of the season. The whole team will have to be massively downsized, and that also includes the crew chiefs. Unfortunately, Briscoe’s current crew chief may not have a chance to follow him to Joe Gibbs Racing. That leaves him and the other three crew chiefs awaiting their eventual fate.

NASCAR insider names his picks to retain at SHR

Freddie Kraft told Door Bumper Clear, “If you had an option, I think you have to keep Rodney and Josh, that’s my opinion. They are running the best. I was going to bring this up a little bit later, you’re getting to the point of the season where you’re going to need to win. There are some crew chiefs in that garage that know how to massage on some things to get a little more speed out. Listen, we’re all cheating, every car on the race track is illegal or pushing the boundaries. There’s some guys that we’ve seen in the past that know how to find speed and must win.”

He cast his mind back to when Kevin Harvick was in a desperate situation at the Dover Motor Speedway. Needless to say, he rallied forth. Harvick couldn’t have done it without crew chief Rodney Childers. According to the 23XI Racing spotter, he and Bubba Wallace are slowly reaching the point where they need to win.

Kraft pointed out that Josh Berry has been putting himself in winning positions in the last two weeks. The closest was at Iowa and last weekend at New Hampshire. When the race still had a dry track, Josh Berry was one of the Top 3 or 4 fastest cars. Even a late yellow flag did little to deny how quick he was during the race and could have been a threat to Christopher Bell.

In a similar vein, fellow NASCAR spotter, Brett Griffin, noted that someone of Rodney Childers’ caliber deserves a pay hike. Especially if Stewart-Haas Racing wants him to stick around with the organization and be part of its future. However, can the same be said about another member of soon-to-shut SHR?

Has Josh Berry done enough to deserve to stay with Stewart-Haas Racing?

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Truthfully, he did have a bit of a shaky start to his rookie campaign with SHR. However, as he racked up the experience, Berry’s performances steadily improved. Since Darlington, he has been on a hot streak of Top 10 finishes, with only Gateway and Sonoma being the sole hiccups.

So it does stand to reason that he is proving his mettle behind the wheel. However, the season is still long, and if Josh Berry keeps this up, he could sneak into the Playoffs. If a little bit of luck rolls in his favor, he could snatch a maiden Cup Series win and guarantee that Playoff berth.

In the coming race weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series paddock makes landfall at the Nashville Superspeedway. This could be a chance for the #4 driver to really step up to the plate and lead Stewart-Haas Racing from the front.