Firstly, the decision to replace Harrison Burton with Josh Berry next season is not a matter of finger-pointing on the part of Wood Brothers Racing.
They ultimately concluded that it was a matter of chemistry, circumstance and timing, and that NASCAR’s oldest team owed it to its partners to see if a new combination could generate greater performance.
At the same time, Berry and his approach were a perfect fit, as team president Jon Wood said Wednesday. They spoke with Chase Briscoe because of his affiliation with Ford, but they always had a very clear opinion of Berry and what he could bring to the organization.
Eddie Wood, the team’s chief executive, explained that point.
“Basically, like Jon said, we had to talk to Chase first because he had a relationship with Ford Motor Company, Ford Performance, through the development series going back several years,” Eddie said. “So it didn’t look like that was going to work out.
“He already had an offer when we came in, but we still had Josh in mind and when everything played out the way it did, we were really excited to be able to talk to Josh and we wasted no time in doing so. I think we met the Monday after Sonoma, which was right away, and it was a really easy process. We’re happy he’s with us.”
For Berry, this ticks a lot of boxes too, as he will be able to remain with Ford after establishing a positive working relationship this season, but also in what could be a good fitment due to Wood Brothers’ relationship with Team Penske.
“I feel like it’s a great fit,” Berry said. “I’ve really enjoyed my relationship with Ford and continuing that was a big thing for me and I appreciate and am grateful to have this opportunity. It really means a lot to drive an iconic car like the 21. I feel like it’s a great opportunity for me. I feel ready to deliver and I think overall it’s going to be a great relationship.”
So the obvious question is, if this Penske affiliation is so prominent, why hasn’t it worked out for Burton?
“We’ve got to be better,” Jon Wood said. “There’s no secret to that. This is a business that’s built on chemistry and it’s a sport that’s built on results and right now, we’re just not getting those results. If Harrison shares some of the responsibility, if it’s ours, we’re not pointing fingers.
“We’re not here to say this or that is to blame, we’re just not where we need to be. Finding the right chemistry and balance to get those performance results is what we’re looking for.”
Eddie Wood compared it to a football team that looks good on paper but for some reason fails to live up to expectations on the field.
“You can have the best people in the world and it just doesn’t work,” Eddie said. “You can’t understand why. I used to make fun of people when they’d say, ‘Well, the chemistry isn’t working. You need this and that.’”
“I think now, especially with this race car, this race car is a lot different than what we knew when we were kids and we worked and raced all our lives. It’s a lot different. We used to go to Talladega and Daytona four times during the winter just to get ready for the 500.
“You were out there four days each to gain a tenth, and you felt like you had done something if you did that. Then you came home, cut the bodywork and did all that. Now, it’s like you race on road courses every week. Road courses, short tracks, everything matters. Everything on the cars matters. Where you are. Your position on the track, the pit crews, the smallest thing matters and there’s no wiggle room. You used to have a bit of leeway. If you were a bit behind, you could make it up in the pits or sometimes change two tyres instead of four. There was always a way, but now you have to do everything right all day long and when things don’t work out – and as I said, we’ve had problems – we can’t figure it out either. It’s really difficult.”
They have made changes to the crew chief.
Jeremy Bullins came into the No. 21 from Penske 2 with a swap of Austin Cindric for crew chief Brian Wilson. It hasn’t really made a difference for either car. Cindric won the race at Gateway and, combined with a Daytona 500 win and family relationships, that’s not a change that’s going to happen.
So the next step was to try a new driver.
“It’s very difficult,” Eddie Wood said. “People get together with other people and it all works out without knowing why, but if you’re one of the lucky ones, when you get together with a group and it all works out, you don’t question why, you don’t care. It’s a very difficult sport right now.”
No one knows that better than Berry, who spent 10 years trying to break into NASCAR, finally makes it to Cup at age 33, only to have the team that just signed him to a multiyear contract fold at the end of the season. And through it all, Berry has begun competing for wins over the past month.
Can he then make a difference in the 21st?
“What I’ve learned this year is, and I think they talked about it, how important culture is and compatibility and trust between the driver and the crew chief and ownership and management and the team,” Berry said. “That’s what I’ve learned the most this year, how important it is and that’s just another layer, for me, that I’ve learned to appreciate and understand, and I think now we’re going to approach this together and move forward and make the changes or not changes that we feel we need to make to give me what I need and give us what we need to be competitive.
“That’s really it, but everyone made it very clear to me that they wanted to get this part first. They wanted my commitment first before they started building around me and I appreciated that and understood that.”
While Rodney Childers doesn’t seem like the obvious choice to join his current driver at Wood Brothers, the door isn’t closed for him either.
“They reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, we want you to sign up first,’” Berry said of the talks with Woods. “We want to get the driver we want and then we’re going to work with you and whoever else we meet with, whether it’s at Team Penske or wherever, and try to figure this out and figure out what the best fit is.”
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-KeynoteUSA Sports
If Berry works with anyone else next year, it will be no different in his eyes than in 2023, when he worked with four different teams across his Cup and Xfinity programs.
“I think I’ve grown tremendously in that area,” Berry said. “Working with a few different guys, I think I have a much clearer picture. When I first sat down and got into an Xfinity car, I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I needed as a driver or what I necessarily wanted. I was just happy to be there in some capacity, and now after working with a few different guys, I think I have a clearer picture of what I’m looking for and I think that’s going to help us in the process.
“As I said before, we will work together to find the right solution. Everyone will have the opportunity to decide what we want to do, but I think I have a good understanding and I think that should help in the process as well.”
And most importantly, Berry can focus on building a Cup program over the next three or four years, though he says he hasn’t had much anxiety about the process. Much of that is also due to agents Kevin Harvick and Josh Jones.
“The opportunity to drive in the Xfinity Series and now the Cup Series fills me with gratitude,” Berry said. “I enjoy doing this and think back to who I was five years ago and to tell that person that I would be sitting here with Len, Eddie Wood and Jon and getting ready to drive the No. 21 car, I wouldn’t have believed it, just like I wouldn’t have believed that I was replacing Kevin Harvick.
“At this point, I feel like anything is possible and I feel like my resume, even outside of the race car, has helped me tremendously and inside of the race car as well, and I feel like even through all of this, I felt like if we just went out there and performed, everything would take care of itself.
“Obviously, I have a lot of great fans with Josh Jones and Kevin Harvick at KHI Management and everything we’ve worked on, I had confidence that if I just went in there and did my job, things would work out and thankfully they did.”
Matt Weaver is a motorsports expert for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
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