Fresh off a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a berth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4, Josh Berry will return to JR Motorsports as driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for 2023, the team announced today.
The soon-to-be 32-year-old Tennessee native has won a career-high three races this season in the No. 8 car, posting victories at Dover Motor Speedway in April, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and on Saturday at Las Vegas. In 52 series starts with JR Motorsports, Berry has earned five victories, 17 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes, and claimed a spot in the NXS Playoffs in his first year of eligibility. With the Vegas win, Berry becomes the first of four drivers who will race for a coveted series title in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway next month.
“We’ve been lucky to have Josh spend so much of his career with JR Motorsports. He’s been successful at every level for us,” said team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. “He’s performed well and won races in our cars, and now he’s contending for NASCAR championships. He established our Late Model team as a championship-caliber program and is now contributing to our Xfinity program. And I couldn’t be more proud to have him back at JRM in 2023.”
Berry began with JR Motorsports in 2010, when he campaigned all across the Southeast with the team’s legacy Late Model team, earning 94 victories. Combined with his NXS victories, Berry is just one win shy of 100 career wins under the JRM banner.
He won at Martinsville Speedway in his sixth NXS start in 2021 and again at Las Vegas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as a substitute driver in the team’s No. 1 car. That win helped propel the No. 1 team into the Round of 8 in the NXS owner’s title battle, and Berry’s success earned him a full-time ride for 2022.
“JR Motorsports has always been my home as a racer, and I’m proud to return to JRM and the No. 8 team for 2023,” Berry said. “When I came here, it was as a Late Model driver and mechanic, and when I got the opportunity to race full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it was a dream come true. We’ll race for a series championship next month, and that’s nearly full-circle for me with the team. I can’t thank Dale, Kelley, LW and Mr. Hendrick enough for this opportunity.”
Berry has won three championships for the team, all in Late Models. He was the 2017 CARS Racing Tour driver champion, a year after earning the owner’s championship in the same series. In 2020, Berry earned the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship, the first for both himself and for JRM. He remains the only driver in JRM history to have earned multiple championships for the team.
Partners for Berry and the No. 8 team will be announced in the near future.
JRM PR
