JOSH BERRY
Martinsville Advance
No. 4 SUNNYD Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Event Overview
● Event: Xfinity 500 (Round 35 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 3
● Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
● Layout: .526-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 500 laps/263 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 130 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 240 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Josh Berry will head to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series’ penultimate race Sunday with all of his focus on redemption. In his first Cup Series start at the .526-mile paperclip-shaped oval in April, the 34-year-old rookie qualified seventh and finished 10th in the second stage on his way to taking the checkered flag 25th. The result was not indicative of the speed the No. 4 team had that day, however, as it was plagued with penalties on pit road that relegated Berry to the tail of the field on multiple occasions.
● Berry has been victorious at Martinsville in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The win came in his first Xfinity Series start there in April 2021. He netted three top-fives and an average finish of 12.8 in his six Xfinity Series starts at the Southern Virginia short track.
● With two races left in his 2024 NASCAR Cup Series rookie campaign, Berry has tallied two top-five finishes, four top-10s and led 96 laps. Last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the driver of the No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse started 12th and finished 11th, bookended by his two Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe, who finished 10th and 12th, respectively.
● Berry first made a name for himself on short tracks, climbing the ranks to earn his seat in the NASCAR Cup Series by dominating at the grassroots level. During his days driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as part of the JR Motorsports Late Model program, Berry amassed an impressive 95 victories in his 262 starts with the team, with 189 top-fives and 219 top-10s. He was also the 2020 NASCAR Weekly Series champion, finishing all but one race inside the top-10 on his way to the title.
● Rodney Childers, crew chief of the No. 4 team, will make his last Martinsville start with Stewart-Haas on Sunday. He hopes to take home the grandfather clock trophy for the first time in his career. In his previous 34 starts at the paperclip-shaped oval, Childers’ drivers have earned two top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, an average starting position of 13.7 and an average finish of 15.9, and zero DNFs (Did Not Finish).
● SUNNYD returns for its final ride with Berry and the No. 4 team Sunday at Martinsville, bringing back its vibrant orange-and-blue SUNNYD colors. SUNNYD has been an associate partner of the No. 4 team throughout the season, featured on Berry’s firesuit and the team’s hauler and toolboxes.
Josh Berry, Driver of the No. 4 SUNNYD Ford Mustang Dark Horse
This is your second start at Martinsville in the NASCAR Cup Series, with your first coming in April. What are your expectations for this weekend?
“I think we expect to be better, right? We were only a few races into the season at that point and we were still developing as a team and getting to know how our program would gel, and that is hard when you go to a place like Martinsville, where the demand to be near-perfect is so high. We made some mistakes that cost us a lot of spots that day and I think since then we’ve cleaned up a lot of those errors and have a team that knows we can perform, so that gives us more confidence. In general, though, after you get a race in at a track we go to twice, you have expectations to run better because you’ve been there and have notes to work off of from the first race. Obviously, the conditions are different, and we aren’t in the same spot we were in when we went there in the spring, but the goal is to improve.”
Rodney Childers hasn’t won at Martinsville with Stewart-Haas. What would it mean to get him his first victory there?
“I think it would be a really meaningful way to almost end our season. Any time you can get a win in the Cup Series, it’s a huge moment, and to be able to score Rodney his first in a year with such adversity would make it all the more special. This group has a history of winning races and, if I can add my name to that list, it would mean a lot to me, but also would be really special to everyone on this team.”
Martinsville is a short track and it’s the type of track that’s in your wheelhouse. Is there added pressure to perform well there, knowing that is your specialty coming from your Late Model days?
“There is probably an expectation that I will do better because of that, but I don’t see it that way. I have a ton of experience in the Late Model car but not a lot in the NextGen car, which is just a different way of racing. I don’t add pressure to my own plate, but I think there are certainly eyes on me to be a guy who is expected to run well there and I like that because, ultimately, it is recognition that I have what it takes to be in the Cup Series. If we have a clean day and maximize where we can, I can see us having a good result.”
No. 4 SUNNYD 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: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois
Rear Tire Changer: Dakota Ratcliff
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Tire Carrier: Jon Bernal
Hometown: Holland, Michigan
Jack Man: Kapil Fletcher
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fuel Man: Corey Coppola
Hometown: Bluefield, West Virginia
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
