Josh Berry’s future remains one of the biggest question marks in the NASCAR Cup Series garage. Jesse Love will pilot the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford next year. Yet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Berry delivered one of his strongest performances of the year. And in the end, he chose to praise his team instead of pointing fingers despite a frustrating campaign.
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“I mean, obviously we haven’t had the season that we wanted, but we felt like this was a good opportunity as any to have a good weekend. And yeah, the guys did a really good job….we just executed a good race, had some good restarts and got up there and got a really good finish.” Berry said in the post-race interview.
Berry has finished 10 races with 30th-place finishes or worse so far in 2026. Although Wood Brothers is considered the 4th team in the Penske camp, they have struggled like fellow Ford teams in the garage. It wasn’t a coincidence that Joey Logano got back on track, and Berry was right there with the Ford cars after the checkered flag dropped in Indy.
Last year, Berry was in the position to finish the race inside the top 5. Having endured the double overtime chaos, his luck ran out on the crucial final few laps. He ran out of fuel, and what could’ve been a P5 finish quickly changed into a 22nd-place finish. So the No. 21 team knows their way around the oval track of Indy, and they brought the goods once again.
Berry admitted qualifying did not go according to plan. But, at the same time, credited the team for making the right adjustments overnight and executing a clean race. Berry also acknowledged the importance of timely restarts and patient race management on a day when passing proved extremely difficult. He said the seventh-place finish was a reward for simply putting together a mistake-free afternoon.
“We’ll gladly take 7th,” he summarized.
Josh Berry has been searching for momentum at a time when his future remains uncertain. That uncertainty became public on June 11. Berry revealed during a media Zoom call that Wood Brothers Racing had informed him the previous day that it would not exercise the 2027 option in his contract. Shortly after Berry disclosed the news, Wood Brothers Racing released its own official statement confirming the decision.
For Josh Berry, Indianapolis may not have changed his contract situation overnight. But at this stage of the season, consistent top 10 finishes and flashes of talent are exactly what he needs to raise his stock. Options are pretty thin, and Dale Jr himself discussed how grim the situation is for Berry to find a new ride for 2027. Legacy Motor Club hasn’t confirmed who will drive their third car; meanwhile, there are a few pieces of the puzzle that are yet to move within the Cup garage.