One other domino has fallen forward of NASCAR’s free company cycle this offseason.
Josh Berry introduced Wednesday, June 10 that he is not going to stay along with his Cup Collection workforce, the Wooden Brothers, in 2027. The 35-year-old driver broke the information throughout a convention name with reporters hosted by Ford.
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“Simply go forward and put it on the market, I cannot be again within the 21 automotive subsequent 12 months. Clearly dissatisfied about that. (Wooden Brothers) has been wonderful to work with, wonderful folks and it’s been such an awesome alternative,” Berry mentioned. “Working onerous to try to discover out what’s on the market, and definitely open and optimistic about any alternatives that come my approach, however at the beginning we’re going to do our greatest to complete this season sturdy and go away in a very good place.”
Wooden Brothers that they weren’t exercising Berry’s possibility for the 2027 season and mentioned it might announce his substitute quickly.
Berry mentioned he discovered that he wouldn’t be retained by Wooden Brothers lower than 24 hours earlier than the decision on Wednesday, however mentioned it wasn’t a choice that stunned him.
“I nonetheless really feel like I’m the identical man that received Las Vegas, the identical man that almost received at New Hampshire within the playoffs. It’s been a troublesome 12 months, however we’ll work by means of it,” Berry mentioned. “It’s been a troublesome 12 months — that’s the truth of it… If we had ran higher, we most likely wouldn’t be having this dialog, however we didn’t.”
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Berry competed in 12 Cup Collection races between 2021 and 2023 for Hendrick, Legacy Motor Membership and Spire Motorsports. He completed second at Richmond within the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick in 2023 and in addition had two different top-10 finishes that 12 months. He bought his first full-time Cup Collection trip in 2024 with Stewart-Haas and has been with Wooden Brothers for the previous two seasons.
Final 12 months, Berry received the primary race of his Cup Collection profession at Las Vegas and had seven different top-10 finishes. Beneath the outdated postseason format, that one victory earned him a spot within the playoff discipline.
This season, underneath the brand new Chase format, Berry is a longshot to make the playoffs. He ranks thirtieth within the level standings and has 4 DNFs in 15 races.
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates profitable the Straight Discuss Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates profitable the Straight Discuss Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 1: Tyler Reddick celebrates profitable the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
(Logan Riely, Getty Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates profitable the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
(Mady Mertens, Imagn Photos)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 15: Tyler Reddick celebrates along with his household and crew after profitable the 68th operating of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
(Mike Watters, Imagn Photos)
A local of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Berry broke into racing by operating late fashions within the CARS Tour, profitable 22 races. Within the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Components Collection, Berry received 5 races for JR Motorsports — the NASCAR workforce co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley.
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The Wooden Brothers are the oldest energetic workforce in NASCAR’s Cup Collection, having fielded vehicles within the high stage of stockcar racing since 1950. NASCAR Corridor of Famers David Pearson, Buddy Baker, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd and Cale Yarborough all raced in Wooden Brothers’ machines, as did different greats of the game like Kyle Petty, Neil Bonnett, Michael Waltrip and AJ Foyt.
Within the trendy period of NASCAR, the workforce has struggled in recent times because the Cup Collection has largely been dominated by greater groups like Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Group Penske — the latter of which Wooden Brothers has an alliance with. Since 2011, Wooden Brothers has simply three Cup Collection wins: Ryan Blaney at Pocono in 2017, Harrison Burton at Daytona in 2024 and Berry in Las Vegas final season.
Wooden Brothers has one in all NASCAR’s coveted charters, guaranteeing the workforce a spot in each Cup Collection race no matter qualifying, which generates a steady stream of income.
Who fills Berry’s seat within the No. 21 Ford stays to be seen, however it’s the most recent transfer in NASCAR’s foolish season forward of the 2027 marketing campaign. The one different confirmed transfer thus far is that subsequent season. Richard Childress Racing of two-time Cup Collection champion Kyle Busch.
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