Josh Berry’s focus on racing continuity is shaping his expectations as he prepares for the upcoming season in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he’ll return for his third full run with Wood Brothers Racing. After securing his first-ever Cup victory and a playoff berth last year, Berry is aiming to build on those accomplishments with the backing of a consistent and trusted team structure.
A Refreshed Approach to Offseason Preparation
Following a lengthy but revitalizing offseason, Berry enters the 2026 NASCAR season feeling more prepared than ever, thanks in large part to retained team members and established routines. The 35-year-old from Hendersonville, Tennessee, is set to pilot the No. 21 Ford for another year with the Woods, hoping to transition from playoff participant to genuine title contender. His eight top-10 finishes last year demonstrated promise, but Berry sees untapped potential with a stable support system behind him.
The Value of Team Consistency
One of Berry’s strongest assets in the coming season is the organizational stability within Wood Brothers Racing. Save for a change in the hauler driver, the family-run outfit has kept its full road crew, including vital figures such as crew chief Samuel “Miles” Stanley, spotter Jason Jarrett, as well as key engineers and mechanics. Although the pit crew lineup remains unsettled, Berry believes that working with the same core group for consecutive years gives him a collective advantage.
“The last couple of years in the Cup Series have been with two different organizations, and now going back to this and having the same group, the same crew chief, the same engineers, really the same everybody, so it just kind of builds more fluidity,”
Berry said during a media teleconference. This familiarity, he noted, made the offseason less about meeting new faces and more about refining existing processes, allowing for strengthened team cohesion.
“This is really the first year since I’ve been in Cup or (O’Reilly) that I’ve really had the same group two years in a row. That made the offseason feel different since I’ve already been working with these guys and knowing them, and not establishing that communication, so I think that should be a positive. I feel like me and Miles (Stanley) have had a really good relationship, and now Miles is going into his second year as a crew chief as well, so I know he’s only gonna keep getting better, so I feel like we’re poised to have a really strong year.”
– Josh Berry, Driver
Reviewing Last Season’s Highs and Lows
Berry’s 2025 campaign began with great momentum, clinching a significant win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway early in the season and carrying a wave of positive finishes into the playoffs. The team showed resilience, entering the postseason after consecutive top-10 performances. However, their playoff bid was cut short due to three challenging races in the Round of 16, leading to a 16th-place finish in the overall standings.
The team’s efforts reflected both progress and setbacks, highlighting areas for refinement. Berry and his crew are focusing on learning from last year’s mistakes—analyzing pit road issues and execution errors—to fine-tune their strategies under the newly updated postseason format.
Identifying Areas for Improvement
Berry is candid about the need for improvement, both for himself and the team. A key element in achieving better results, he believes, is reducing on-track errors and making more prudent decisions during critical race moments.
“We sat down early in the offseason and kind of broke it down and looked at each race. It’s a number of things,”
Berry explained. He noted recurring issues such as pit road mishaps and penalties, emphasizing the necessity of addressing such challenges.
“It’s issues on pit road. There were a couple of speeding penalties over the course of the year. Obviously, that stuff you have to clean up. The biggest thing is just looking at the decision-making towards getting to these races, maybe is the biggest thing. I think you’re better off to take a top 10 than maybe put yourself in a bad spot that could result in it, but honestly, the key to that is not something that I don’t think any of us really know.”
– Josh Berry, Driver
Berry also points to the need for persistence, maintaining that many races last year did not reflect the team’s actual performance.
“There were a lot of positives in our performance last year. There were plenty of races where the finish didn’t indicate the type of day we had, so that’s been our focus, is looking through some of that stuff and trying to figure out what we could do better and put ourselves in better positions to get the finishes we deserve.”
– Josh Berry, Driver
Looking Ahead: A Promising Outlook With Continuity
With familiar faces such as Samuel Stanley and Jason Jarrett returning and a proven group of engineers and mechanics in place, Berry anticipates a more effective and harmonious campaign in 2026. The presence of this continuity is expected to foster clarity in communication, quicker adaptation to challenges, and better execution during races. Having faced the pressures of different organizations in recent years, Berry values the opportunity to grow alongside his current group, believing the consistent environment places Wood Brothers Racing in a strong position for success this season.
As Berry and his team look to build on last year’s lessons, the focus keyword “Josh Berry racing continuity” embodies their strategy for sustained progress. Should they capitalize on their cohesion and address previous missteps, Wood Brothers Racing could well transition from playoff participants to genuine championship threats in the next NASCAR Cup Series run.
