When it was announced last year that Josh Berry would take over Kevin Harvick‘s No. 4 car, the NASCAR world had mixed reactions. There were questions raised, as usual, about whether Berry would be able to continue or even match Harvick’s legacy. Now, fast forward to this season. After 12 races, Berry’s performance had seemingly been below average if compared at all. Whereas the Stewart-Haas Racing team surely would have expected a bit more from their rookie.
Josh Berry’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, who also happened to be the crew chief for Kevin Harvick, opened up on the same. How does he perceive Berry’s performance? Is he disappointed with the driver in the mid-season itself? Let’s find out.
Rodney Childers provides his view on Josh Berry’s performance
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Childers left a comfortable situation at Michael Waltrip Racing to work with someone like Kevin Harvick, whom he believed had an unpredictable personality. Why so? Maybe they were both driven and hungry for a championship. But to build the No. 4 team from scratch, Harvick needed him. A meeting at Richard Childress’s gold course is what made the crew chief change his mind; this was right before Harvick left RCR for Stewart-Haas Racing. And the duo became a championship favorite team in less than 5 years. But now can Berry and Childers hit the same numbers?
Speaking with NASCAR Live, Rodney Childers opened up about his view of Josh Berry’s overall performance from his perspective. He stated that his analysis differs a lot from public analysis. Hence, he does not blame Berry; in fact, he does not perceive his performance as “bad” in the first place. He pointed out that Berry’s enthusiasm is on point, as is his knowledge about cars. Childers also pointed out the challenges of being a rookie at this point in the Cup Series.
Childers said, “Yeah, for sure, like you said, I had a ton of confidence in Josh going into the season. Everything that he’s done in the past—just watching him grow up, racing Late Models, and doing different things—and honestly, he has done a really good job. I’ve told people every week, I don’t think as the public out there. We got to realize how good a job he’s done.”
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“Being a rookie in the Cup Series right now is so tough. I mean, it’s crazy tough. And I honestly didn’t know that until this year—you know, being with a veteran like Kevin for so long. But I’ve got to see out all that…. But he works his bu** off every week. He (Berry) studies, he shows up prepared weekly, asking about Dirt Cars, throttle chase from year before or the race before. And he can tell you exactly like how it looks like during the race. And how different people would drive in the cars. You know all that has been really good,” he added.
Childers expressed that the main challenge lies in understanding these cars, especially at intermediate tracks. But does that mean, Childers will have to lean on someone like Kenny Francis, as he did when he just joined the No. 4 team? Back then, Francis helped Childers order specific parts that he believed would get the No. 4 team off and running right away.
The crew chief also mentioned that they have been very fast on short tracks like Richmond and Martinsville, also noting that their performance has been strong at speedways, with Atlanta being a highlight where they had a particularly good car. Additionally, he believes that it’s a matter of the team learning to work with one another and getting accustomed to the cars and each other’s styles.
SHR’s rookie season so far
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In his latest race, the 33-year-old driver from Tennessee took to the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway oval for his second career appearance. Josh Berry piloted the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Mustang to a P15 finish. Berry started from P17, despite initial balance issues in the rain-delayed Advent 400’s opening stage.
At Darlington, Josh Berry boasts six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, including a second-place finish in May 2021. That stands out among his two top-five finishes there. In that race, Josh Berry led for eight laps and finished just 0.422 seconds behind the winner, Justin Algaier.
Overall, he has secured four top-10 finishes at Darlington, with an average start position of 15.3. He also possesses an average finish of 11.2, completing 876 out of 884 laps, which is 99.1 percent.
Moreover, Crew Chief Rodney Childers has a proven track record at Darlington. He possesses three victories in 22 Cup Series starts there, all with the previous No. 4 driver, Kevin Harvick. Childers-led drivers have also claimed three pole positions, 11 top-five finishes (50 percent of all starts), and 13 top-10s, with an average start position of 13.2.
The average finish is 12.4. Out of 22 Cup Series starts at Darlington, Childers’ drivers have only failed to finish once, completing 7,390 of the possible 7,632 laps. Following the race at Kansas, Berry ranks 23rd in the Cup Series standings and is second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year race, trailing rookie leader Carson Hocevar by four points.
Would you like to see Berry crowned with the “Rookie of the Year” award?
