Kevin Harvick’s Replacement Stays Smug After Finally Delivering as Stewart Haas Racing Make Their Awaited Comeback

Heading into 2024, one of NASCAR’s biggest teams is facing quite a dilemma. Ever since Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola departed Stewart-Haas Racing, Tony Stewart’s camp is facing an upward battle toward resurgence. But despite their best efforts, the four-man team has failed to break into the top five frequently. That is, until the Goodyear 400.

In a race that was only fitting for a track rightly named ‘Too Tough to Tame’, Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe made the most of Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher’s misery to round out the top five. Looking back at their tumultuous season thus far, the new #4 driver felt SHR is finally in a good spot.

SHR cars are the star of the show at Darlington

After starting the 2024 season with a handful of 20th and above finishes, it seemed like Josh Berry wasn’t up to grips with Cup Series action yet. But nearly halfway through the first leg, Berry showed signs of improvement as his finishes slowly began to enter the top 15. Fast-forward to the Goodyear 400 at Darlington, and Berry was able to capitalize on other’s mistakes and seal the podium with Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski at P3.

This was a result SHR fans had been anticipating for weeks. But whilst many may claim this was a one-off, Berry highlighted how the #4 Mustang Dark Horse had been strong all weekend long. Berry shared with FrontStretch, “Had a really good car in practice yesterday. I just did a bad job in qualifying honestly. I felt like we we lacked a little bit of short run speed, maybe in practice, and it seemed like after 15 laps, we were one of the better cars. And that’s definitely what we saw today.”

Despite a poor qualifying which placed them 33rd, the #4 Darkhorse made the most of its long-run pace. After missing out on stage points by the smallest of margins, Berry inched his way toward the top five, nearing the end of the race. And when Chris Buescher tussled with Reddick, causing both drivers to pit, Berry got his opportunity to put the #4 into a podium place.

After dealing with major woes for much of the 2024 season, Berry was happy to finally get a solid result as Harvick’s replacement. He added, “I think it was really impressive, and our car was really good. Rodney did a great job, everybody back at Stewart-Haas Racing and Ford. These are the days that we knew were coming.” According to Berry, the #4 SHR Mustang was amongst the best-running cars in the long run, ultimately helping him bring home a podium.

He shared insights into the Mustang Darkhorse’s key strength over the competition; “It seemed like after 15 laps our car was really strong. I could move around a little bit more than some people. A lot of people were married to the wall and I just felt like my car could turn down the racetrack and come off of four really strong and build a run.”

As SHR’s current situation with charter sales and merger rumors continues to make headlines, Berry believes that he can do “great things” if given more time.

Kevin Harvick’s former home welcomes Berry with open arms

Trending

Chevy Prodigy Loses NASCAR Seat, Fans Allege Ignorance to Kyle Busch’s Daytona Setback Behind It

“There’s Going to Be a New Player”- Kyle Petty Warns the Entire NASCAR Garage With Bold Prediction About Spire Motorsports Star

Michael Jordan’s Opponent’s Warning Comes True as Roger Penske Shuts Down NASCAR’s Infiltration

Joey Logano Leaks NASCAR’s Threat to Kick Teams Out of Daytona 500 After Chevy’s Defiance to $400,000 Fine

Kurt Busch Finally Breaking Radio Silence After Criminal Charges Forced 3-Month-Long Hiatus Has NASCAR Fans Breathing Easy

So far this season, pressure had largely been on Chase Briscoe to step up as a leader, given his longest standing tenure in the team, in Kevin Harvick’s place. But with how things have been going, both Noah Gragson and Josh Berry seem to be stepping into their roles faster. Although Briscoe brought in a top-five at Darlington, his previous results haven’t been able to match Berry’s improvements, with no Top-5s before last weekend.

That being said, the #4 driver also believes a lot of the credit lies with Harvick’s former and now Berry’s current crew chief, Rodney Childers. Reflecting on how the team aims to get around the current rumors, Berry shared with FrontStretch, “All we can do is bring race cars to the race track like this. I mean, that four team is an amazing group. I can’t stress enough what it’s like to race with a group like that and the leader that Rodney is, I’m confident that if we have enough time together we can do great things, I really believe that.” According to Berry, the result at Darlington spoke volumes of what Childers and the #4 driver can do, given the right circumstances.

Compared to other races where pit-stop woes or on-track battles have ended his day short, Berry came out on top at the Goodyear 400. He concluded, “We had great cars at, you know, Richmond, Bristol Martinsville, I could name off several of them you know that just didn’t work out, but today it finally did.”

After taking a look at Josh Berry’s optimism amidst SHR’s distressful situation, do you think that the team’s resurgence lies in the #4’s hands instead of Briscoe’s?