Tony Stewart’s Cup Rookie Confesses the Truth Behind His “Disappointing” Start for SHR

“To fill Kevin’s shoes is a hard task,” these were the words of Tony Stewart during his opening statement after the hiring of Josh Berry. And so far his words have rang true. Four races into his debut Cup Serie campaign Josh Berry is by his own admission a little disappointed with how things have turned out so far.

The Xfinity Series veteran was brought in by Stewart-Haas Racing as a replacement for Kevin Harvick, but so far his best finish has been the 20th place he secured in Las Vegas.

Josh Berry opened up about Phoenix mistakes & Bristol qualifying goals

Speaking in an interview, Josh Berry admitted his performance in the last four races to be, “a little bit disappointing.” The No. 4 SHR driver asserted his views and understanding about the tough nature of Cup Racing. As he stated, “Even when I started this going back last summer, people asked me all the time what my expectations were, and I always said I expected it to be hard and it is hard. Cup racing is hard.”

Berry has suffered two major setbacks in the races this season, placing him at rank 31 in the Series Standing. The first was at the Atlanta race, where he endured a DNF. And in the last Phoenix Race, he went through an early mishap even before the race. Undergoing a crash in his qualifying attempt, he just managed to save his Ford Mustang from crashing into the outside wall of the pavement.

Reflecting on his misfortunes, the SHR Rookie acknowledged, “For me, I made a couple of mistakes over the last few weeks, right? Spinning out and qualifying at Phoenix, put us really far behind. All these guys, all week, all they talk about is how you can’t pass. I mean having a mistake like that but you really far behind and make your day look worse than it is.”

Berry addressed how when they have got things together, they perform better, “I think each race we’ve had different things happen that maybe hurt our finish, or not. But I feel like when we do, when we get everything put together and the car is handling like I want and we execute, we have speed, we make progress, we are faster.” He also expressed hope of improving things in the next races.

He further proposed, “For me, it’s just hopefully get some of these mistakes out of the way, early on and start qualifying a little better. And I think we’ll be fine.”

Berry and his team did fare better in Bristol qualifying which could hint at a change of fortunes for the driver.

With Bristol’s hope answered, what’s next for team SHR?

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In the aftermath of the Food City 500 qualifying results, 5 out of the top-10 lineup positions are captured by Ford Drivers. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry is set to lead the front row alongside Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. In the third row, the No. 14 SHR driver Chase Briscoe will start at pole position 6th beside, Team HMS’ No.9 driver Chase Elliott.

Berry in his rookie Cup Series career’s races has showcased his best performances at Short Tracks. In last season’s dirt race at Bristol Berry started 7th and finished 8th. Also, he was the runner-up at the Richmond Raceway last season. Starting from pole position 30th he managed to come 2nd behind Kyle Larson, showing his finesse at the 0.75-mile track.

Chase Briscoe, presently referred to as Tony Stewart’s ace after Kevin Harvick’s retirement, performed well in the last Phoenix Race, scoring his 2nd top-10 finish of the season. Briscoe’s last attempt at Bristol’s Dirt race was praiseful. Starting from the Pole position 14, he managed to score 7th and 6th place in S1 and S2 of the race. Finally, concluding with a P5 finish.

So now, as the Bristol race is on its brink, and with Tony’s two favorite drivers in the leading pack, the season could still turn around for team SHR.

Read More: Kyle Busch Goes Back to Back as He Sweeps 101 NASCAR Career Stage Wins at Bristol