The 2024 Silly Season reached a shocking climax when Tony Stewart and Gene Haas took a painful decision. Stewart-Haas Racing will shutter at the end of 2024. The team has undergone a glittering journey since 2009, accumulating 69 Cup victories and two championships. However, before their drivers could claim an SHR win this season, they were already handing out their resumes elsewhere.

Despite the indubitable talent resting in all four, Dale Earnhardt Jr focuses on one. Blame it on racing history or a blooming friendship; Dale Jr believes this driver can work wonders for any team that inducts him.

Dale Earnhardt Jr pins his faith in the SHR rookie

When Dale Jr was contemplating being part of a late-model racing series, Josh Berry came onto the scene. The two racers first met via online racing. But one thing led to another, and soon Berry was racing under JR Motorsports’ banner in the Late Model. When the CARS Tour rolled out in 2015, Berry won three of four races. Berry went on to win 21 late-model races.

Hence, despite Josh Berry’s poor Cup performance to date, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s trust is justified. Recently, on an episode of The Dale Jr Download, he recalled his history with Berry. “Everybody knows that I’m a massive Josh Berry fan. I raced with Josh for 10 years in Late Model stocks. He has been like a part of our family. I invested in Josh personally to race in the Xfinity Series for a couple of years that got him to the Cup level.”

That is why, as Stewart-Haas Racing shuts down, Dale Earnhardt Jr believes other teams should fight for Josh Berry’s talent. “It’s my belief that of any driver that will become available for other teams to consider, Josh is by far the most talented and turnkey-ready race-winning driver. I know he’s in his rookie year of Cup…personally, emotionally, mature-wise, he’s the guy.”

After finishing most of the Cup races out of the top 20, Josh Berry ran into a flat-tire wreck in Illinois. However, he holds back-to-back podium finishes in Darlington and North Wilkesboro, followed by a top-10 in Charlotte. Considering this is his rookie year, Berry is performing remarkably on the Cup level.

That is why his previous benefactor, Dale Earnhardt Jr, further rooted for his future. “I’m really paying attention to the news about what happened to Josh Berry and where he may end up. Absolutely he belongs in Cup…all of the teams that are having new opportunities, new charters, and drivers to put in those cars should be considering Josh as the driver to hire.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s confidence arises from an intimate experience of Josh Berry’s grassroots racing. He gave the Cup rookie his first big break in motorsports.

Dale Jr noticed the sheer talent earlier

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Josh Berry started humbly. Although his family introduced him to racing, his mother’s demise brought a pall of economic gloom that pulled him out of racing. Berry raced online instead and met Dale Earnhardt Jr in the process. That proved life-changing for him, as NASCAR’s popular icon saw the talent in him and decided to induct him as a late model.

Berry talked about his encounter with Dale Jr in 2023. “We talked about my racing at the Fairgrounds. I remember he had inquired about it a little bit. I think I sent him some videos of it. Never thought anything of it…He asked me if I’d ever like to test his Late Model. Of course, I was ecstatic because at that point in my career and life, I never thought I would ever drive a stock car.”

After a successful test at Virginia’s Motor Mile Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr named him JR Motorsports’ regular Late Model Stock Car driver. The rest was history, and in 2023, he landed Kevin Harvick’s ride in Stewart-Haas Racing. But now he must bid adieu to this short-lived bliss and look for a home in a different NASCAR Cup garage.