● In a season of firsts for Josh Berry, the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval is yet another maiden voyage in a NASCAR Cup Series NextGen car for the 33-year-old Hendersonville, Tennessee, native. While the driver of the No. 4 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas racing has faced challenges on serpentine tracks during his first season in NASCAR’s premier series, his last such race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International showed promise as he got into the groove of turning left and right. Berry started 31st, and with good strategy and a bit of race craft, was working his way toward the top-10 in the final 10 laps when a series of cautions and restarts relegated the rookie, who was running on older tires, to a 25th-place finish. Although the finishing position was nothing to ride off into the sunset about, the ability to be competitive in an unfamiliar setting is something worth noting for the former Late Model short-track ringer.
● Despite having no experience on the Roval in the NASCAR Cup Series, Berry is no stranger to speed at the track, having earned one top-five finish and two top-10s in his two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts behind the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 8 entry. His most recent start at the 2.28-mile road course in October 2023 saw him start and finish in third place. The previous year, Berry started 14th and finished eighth. On both occasions, he was vying for the Xfinity Series championship.
● The Roval is a challenging 17-turn road course that combines parts of the 1.5-mile oval with an infield road course to test drivers on multiple surfaces and surroundings. Berry’s crew chief Rodney Childers has enjoyed success at the hybrid layout, with his drivers tallying two top-five finishes, three top-10s, an average starting position of 13.3, and an average finish of 12.8 in just six starts. This weekend, Berry and Childers have one goal – to find the winning combination from each other’s notebooks.
● Berry’s No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse will feature a bright pink window net as part of the Erik Jones Foundation’s Window Net of Hope program. Each window net used during Sunday’s race will be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting organizations that promote or provide early breast cancer detection and care. The auction will run from Oct. 14-21. Fans can place their bids on Berry’s window net here.
● Bed Bath & Beyond will adorn Berry’s No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Charlotte for the third time in four races this weekend. The partnership celebrates Bed Bath & Beyond as the ultimate online destination for home essentials, featuring an unmatched assortment for every room of the house. Whether it’s your kitchen, bedroom, outdoor space or bathroom, Bed Bath & Beyond has what you need to create a space that feels uniquely yours. From cookware and bedding to bath accessories and beyond, Bed Bath & Beyond is your go-to source for functional and stylish home essentials.
Josh Berry, Driver of the No. 4 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse
The Roval incorporates parts of the 1.5-mile oval and parts of the road course. What makes that so challenging?
“I think it is tough to pick where you want speed when you are setting up your car. The road course setup is so vastly different from the oval setup, so trying to find the happy medium where you have enough speed is hard. When I ran at JRM, we had obviously found something that worked well for me to create speed, which is so crucial for me since I have an overall lack of experience at road-course racing, so we will have to work hard to find that same balance in the Cup car.”
You have found speed in the Xfinity car at the Roval. What helped you the most in those races?
“I think we just had time on our side and we could lean into our teammates well over there. Like I said, I don’t have a ton of experience road racing, so having help with setup and sim time and being able to talk to my teammates and learn quickly just helped me a lot.”
The Roval layout has been altered a bit since last year’s race. How do you think the changes will impact the racing?
“It is hard to say, honestly. I think NASCAR puts a lot of smart people together to try and improve the racing product on track and at the Roval, they saw an issue and have put together a new idea that should improve the course. That’s all we can ask for from NASCAR, right? Any time there has been an issue, they address it and move forward and that’s all we can ask for. So for this weekend, I won’t really know fully until I get some seat time and make some laps with the new features.”
● Event: Bank of America Roval 400 (Round 32 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 13
● Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval
● Layout: 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 109 laps/252.88 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 59 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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