JOSH BERRY
Pocono Advance
No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Event Overview
● Event: The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VisitPA.com (Round 21 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 14
● Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway
● Layout: 2.5-mile triangle
● Laps/Miles: 160 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 30 laps / Stage 2: 65 laps / Final Stage: 65 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Deep in the backwoods of Long Pond, Pennsylvania lays the three-cornered Pocono Raceway, known as “The Tricky Triangle” for its three unique corners. Josh Berry, the NASCAR Cup Series rookie points leader, will pull double duty at Pocono this weekend, competing in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race for AM Racing and Sunday’s premier event in the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing. Sunday’s race mark’s Berry’s first in the Cup Series at Pocono, but the 33-year-old driver is all too familiar with finding speed in the Pocono Mountains in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, having claimed a pole position and a race-high 51 laps led in July 2023, a third-place finish in July 2022, and another top-10 in 2021. Last year, Berry won the opening two stages before being involved in an on-track incident on the final lap of the race that relegated him to a 24th-place finish. Berry also turned laps behind the wheel of a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entry at Pocono in 2021, when he started 20th and finished 11th, coming up just short of what would have been his second top-10 that season.
● It was announced last Wednesday that Berry will drive the No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Racing starting in 2025, taking over for Harrison Burton.
● Berry’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year points lead is by a 31-point margin ahead of second-place Carson Hocevar. With just six races left in the regular season, Berry is ranked 21st in the overall Cups Series standings, 64 markers behind the 16th-place playoff cutline.
● Rodney Childers, crew chief for the No. 4 team, has 34 starts as a shot-caller in NASCAR’s premier series at Pocono. In those races, Childers’ drivers have recorded one pole position (Kevin Harvick in July 2019), one win (Harvick in June 2020), 12 top-five finishes, 16 top-10s, an average starting position of 14.1 and an average finishing position of 13.9. More importantly is Childers’ model of consistency, with only one Pocono DNF.
● Overstock.com adorns Berry’s No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Pocono. The partnership amplifies the recent relaunch of Overstock.com, home of crazy good deals that offer quality and style for less. Overstock.com is for the savvy shopper who loves the thrill of the hunt and it includes product categories customers know and love, like patio furniture, home furniture and area rugs, while reintroducing jewelry, watches and health-and-beauty products.
Josh Berry, Driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Pocono Raceway is known as “The Tricky Triangle,” having three distinct corners with very different requirements for speed. Which is the most challenging and why?
“I think turn three is the most difficult because it is the last corner before the long straightaway, and getting your car turned well enough to have good drive off and carry speed down the straight is important. If there was any corner to pick to have your car set up for, it would be that one for me. But they are all different and that’s what makes that place so hard. You can’t give away too much in other corners or you will be so far back that any advantage you gain in the final turn wouldn’t outweigh the loss in the other two corners.”
In the Xfinity Series, you have shown a lot of pace and nearly won the race last year. What does it take to put a complete race together at Pocono?
“Track position is a premium at Pocono. Being able to be up front and stay up front is a priority there. which sounds cliché, but it’s true. I have had fast cars there and being able to be up front and have a good strategy that keeps your car up front keeps it in clean air and, for the most part, keeps you out of any risks that can end your day early.”
You are pulling double duty this weekend, running both the Xfinity and Cup Series races. How much does that benefit you for Sunday’s race?
“Anytime you can get behind the wheel and cut laps in a race setting is going to be helpful. Simulators can only go so far, so to be able to get track time and see how the surface evolves, what I need out of the car, and how to run lines that I think can work or develop is going to give me an advantage in how quickly I can adapt to the Cup Series car. I am excited to get to run in the Xfinity race, too, because after how last year ended for me, I am ready to try and get some redemption and go try to win.”
Now that you know you’ll be racing for the Wood Brothers next year, does that lift some of the pressure off your shoulders and let you go race without that weighing on you?
“Yeah, I think in the back of my mind, I can just go race now. My whole career has been a series of tryouts and having the ability to go out there this weekend and know that I am secure for the foreseeable future gives me a sense of freedom to just go race and have fun. Obviously, the whole No. 4 team still wants to win, and we are committed to doing that, but having my deal signed just gives me the chance to really go focus on doing my best each weekend and not having to deal with the distractions that come with trying to get a ride for next year.”
No. 4 Overstock.com Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Josh Berry
Hometown: Hendersonville, Tennessee
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin
Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina
Engineer: Billy Kuebler
Hometown: Saline, Michigan
Spotter: Eddie D’Hondt
Hometown: Levittown, New York
Over-The-Wall Members
Front Tire Changer: Daniel Coffey
Hometown: Granite Falls, North Carolina
Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina
Tire Carrier: Mason Flynt
Hometown: High Point, North Carolina
Jack Man: Brandon Banks
Hometown: High Point, North Carolina
Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana
Road Crew Members
Mechanic: Tyler Trosper
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Mechanic: Chris Capaldi
Hometown: Armada, Michigan
Tire Specialist: Zac Lupien
Hometown: Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Transporter Co-Driver: Jake Zierhoffer
Hometown: Billerica, Massachusetts
Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio
