Stewart-Haas Racing announced last Wednesday that Josh Berry, a driver for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, would be replacing Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 car for the 2024 NASCAR season and beyond.
The organization has been focused on Berry for a while as Harvick announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2023 season before the Daytona 500. It allowed Stewart-Haas Racing to have enough time to prepare as NASCAR silly season starts to ramp up near the summer months.
One interesting dynamic is that Berry is a Chevrolet driver for JR Motorsports. The 32-year-old driver is set to join KHI Management, Harvick’s agency, but does this dynamic mean anything for Stewart-Haas Racing?
Stewart-Haas Racing addresses future with Ford after Josh Berry’s announcement for the No. 4 car
It has been no secret that Berry would take over for Harvick but there are plenty of answered questions for Stewart-Haas Racing moving forward. Some of these include the futures of Aric Almirola and Ryan Preece.
Chase Briscoe, the driver of the No. 14 car for Stewart-Haas Racing, has already signed a long-term deal with the organization but the other two drivers have unknowns. Almirola is “widely expected” to retire at the conclusion of the 2023 NASCAR season while Preece is not certain to return.
Related: Kevin Harvick receives high praise from Stewart-Haas Racing amid struggles
There could be more moves on the way as Stewart-Haas Racing has been heavily linked to Front Row Motorsports drivers Zane Smith and Michael McDowell to possibly replace Almirola in the No. 10 car next year.
However, there was another interesting question asked to Tony Stewart, a co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, during the announcement of Berry to the No. 4 car. It was a question of whether the organization plans to compete with Ford Performance during the 2024 season.
“(Stewart-Haas Racing) is planning on (staying with Ford). We’re contracted for that, so yeah, I’d say we’ll probably stay with what our contract says right now.”
Tony Stewart on Stewart-Haas Racing’s future with Ford in 2024
The addition of Berry wouldn’t force the NASCAR team to switch from Ford to Chevrolet. The organization used to run Chevrolets but decided to change to Ford at the beginning of the 2017 NASCAR season.
There are plenty of things that need to be decided at Stewart-Haas Racing in the near future. Who will replace Almirola if he decides to retire from the NASCAR Cup Series and will Preece return for a second campaign in the No. 41 car?
These are the biggest unanswered questions at this time. A switch to a different manufacturer could also be on the table but Stewart-Haas Racing has a lot on their plate right now as they try to figure out what is going to happen in 2024.
In the meantime, whether you are watching it live or looking for how to watch NASCAR on TV or another streaming platform, Sportsnaut has you covered for the upcoming race weekend at the Chicago Street Course.