Dale Earnhardt Jr. fears for Josh Berry NASCAR future after Wood Brothers exit

In June, the Wood Brothers announced that Jesse Love would be replacing Josh Berry in the iconic No. 21 car in the 2027 season. Immediately, people wondered where Berry would end up next NASCAR Cup Series season. Little has come on the news front of Berry’s future. As the season moves forward, and with Berry mired in 33rd place in the latest Chase standings, each week offers an audition of sorts for the 35-year-old driver. Berry showed speed at North Wilkesboro on Sunday, but Christopher Bell got loose and put him into the wall, ending Berry’s day. Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his disappointment in how the entire situation is playing out for Berry on this week’s Dale Jr. Download. “Yeah, man it’s awful,” said Earnhardt Jr. “Josh was running good too. Drove up to like 13th. “No one will ever give a shit that they were actually running pretty good. You’ll just see that. They’ll just see the statistics.” Following Sunday’s race at North Wilkesboro gave a quote that showed the despair. Dale Jr. Download producer Travis Rockhold read it to Dale Jr. “I’ve worked my whole life to get to this position, and now I feel people view me completely different after this compared to what I’ve done up till this point,” said Berry. Dale Jr. is heartbroken for Berry “This year’s heartbreaking for me because I think of Josh as a family member. Josh Berry moved here from Nashville, moved in with my mom and Willie (Jackson), ate their dinners, and worked at the shop. “We got him racing. He raced with us for 10 years. We won hundreds of races, track championships, national championships. “We won O’Reilly races. And we did everything we could to give him everything we could give him. And he was presented this opportunity to race at Haas following (Kevin) Harvick into the 4 car at Harvick’s retirement. “There was this big announcement. I mean, it was emotional. It was cool. “And he ends up winning his first race for the Wood Brothers. I’m hearing that Penske was very high on Josh. Blaney and all the guys were saying that he was great as a teammate and a big addition to the operation. They had this really solid first year. “He wins a race at Vegas, qualifies, runs well at a lot of different racetracks. And it looked like things are going to be positive. And I don’t know, I do not know what has happened. “I really don’t know what’s happened,I don’t bug Josh too much about it, I don’t bother. “I think the world of the Wood Brothers, I think the world of them. I idolize Leonard and them.” ‘It’s just a bad time’ Earnhardt Jr. isn’t sure where and when things went wrong with Berry at Wood Brothers. With a win at Las Vegas in the No. 21 just last season, this seems unthinkable just over a year later. “I don’t know what has happened, but it’s unfortunate because I don’t know where this goes for Josh. I don’t, and the landscape right now is crappy for guys like him. “I don’t know what opportunities even exist. Pick a series, Truck, O’Reilly, or Cup. Where is there a car or a truck that is looking for a driver? I don’t know. “It’s just a bad time.” What about RCR? While RCR has an opening with the 33 car in the Cup Series and the Love’s car in the O’Reilly Series, Earnhardt Jr. was asked about those opportunities as potential landing spots for Berry. The NASCAR Hall of Famer hears that all spots might already be filled at Richard Childress Racing. “Well, yeah, I guess. I hear rumblings about different people going there, and I think they’ve already … might have their guys. Josh doesn’t have a bucket of money to take anywhere. He might have some partners that he has created relationships with that could go with him. “I’m not sure, but it’s heartbreaking because man, he has worked his ass off to get to this point and I think he’s proven good enough, but it’s frustrating. “I worry how this is going to shake out. I’m hopeful that there’s still some racing left for Josh and them to do some things this year that will bolster Josh’s opportunities.”