The entire crowd in the stands was feeling blue when Kevin Harvick climbed out of his #4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, finishing seventh. Every ardent fan in the arena felt a lump in their throats until they realized that it would be the last time they would see the 20014 Cup Series champion in a Cup car, racing for the gold.

While Harvick went out on his shield, trying to make up for the lost ground with his inadequate SHR equipment, Tony Stewart and Co. zeroed in on Xfinity sensation and HMS super-sub Josh Berry who was also a proficient veteran with a Late-Model background to replace the outgoing veteran in the #4 car. However, as we near the commencement of the 2024 season, enthusiasts and NASCAR pundits have come out bluntly to express their takes, mentioning how Berry replacing Harvick would just be a fine deal on paper but not a practical move that would get SHR out of the ditch.

Replacing veteran with a veteran – Can Josh Berry fill in Harvick’s void in the #4?

Now, this is not going to be a nice statement for ardent SHR and Ford fans in general. But given the team’s downtrodden status in the promotion today, bringing in an experienced veteran like Berry wouldn’t just solve the problem when it’s the team itself that needs a rejig. To prove our point, even Harvick couldn’t do anything significant in his final season and to add insult to the injury, none of SHR’s drivers could.

Despite being a Ford squadron with potent racers on duty, the team just couldn’t taste victory. As per industry experts the whole team at SHR needs a proper reshuffle to bring them back to speed and replacing Harvick with Berry just wouldn’t cut it. Popular YouTuber and NASCAR enthusiast, Eric Estepp got straight down to the point when he uncovered the bitter truth about Berry’s arrival.

“On paper, this seems like a great deal for both the driver and the team. Josh Berry is a veteran racecar driver, replacing a veteran racecar driver. Rodney Childers is in his camp but then you look closer and then you realize things aren’t perfect,” said the YouTuber. He added, “SHR has lost Busch beer and Hunt Brothers Pizza and Josh Berry while for sure a Cup Series talent is coming off a winless Xfinity Series season. Nobody expects Josh Berry to replace Kevin Harvick overnight but are we convinced that he’s able to steady the ship at least? I think Stewart-Haas Racing gets a B for this signing.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Fans rally behind Kevin Harvick as he slaps back at “smart a**” comment against his NASCAR career 

The young fan then went on to highlight the underlying currents here, saying, “From Josh Berry’s perspective, I’ll give him an A minus, this is a great deal an incredible opportunity Stewart-Haas Racing may be nowhere near their peak but they’re still a key partner, a major NASCAR Cup Series organization and you look at Berry 3 years ago racing in the NASCAR Cup Series seemed like a piped dream to be where he is now with an established championship-caliber organization, this is a great opportunity, I’ll give him an A minus. The minus being Stewart-Haas’ recent struggles.” 

Longtime HMS spotter jumps ships to SHR and opts to spot for Josh Berry in 2024

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Eddie D’Hondt is a name old-school fans can relate to. The longtime NASCAR spotter in 2024 will move to SHR to assist Josh Berry in his chase. His move comes just after he announced his departure from Hendrick Motorsports, leaving the #9 team of Chase Elliott. Before he was spotting for the 2020 Cup Seris champion, D’Hondt was closely in ties with the 4-time Cup Series champion, Jeff Gordon acting as his pair of eyes, guiding him through the fray from up in the spotter stands.

It would’ve been the 13th season if D’Hondt stayed at HMS but instead, he chose to switch base to the Ford camp and assist Berry whom he had a bond during his time in the #9 car, driving it as Elliott’s replacement earlier this year. It was with D’Hondt that Berry secured his career-best second finish at Richmond.

READ MORE: Tony Stewart Sponsorship Crisis Nears Resolution as Josh Berry’s Trusted Ally Rumored to Join SHR

Despite the team’s precarious position, the tides might’ve changed now since, Berry has legendary, championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers along with his favorite spotter, D’Hondt as his eyes in the stands.