NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a knack for spotting and nurturing talent. From Justin Allgaier, who clinched the 2024 Xfinity Championship, to the young prodigy Connor Zilisch, who stunned the racing world by triumphing in his debut Xfinity race, Earnhardt’s influence has been a game changer. Allgaier’s championship win followed a ten-year journey with Junior’s team, JRM, while 18-year old Zilisch is already carving out a name for himself in his first full Xfinity Season, with a win at COTA under his belt. When it comes to the race track, the mentorship of Dale Jr., fondly known as ‘June Bug’, is nothing short of transformative.
One of the most recent beneficiaries of Junior’s mentorship is Josh Berry, a driver for Wood Brothers Racing. Despite the tricky nature of the first intermediate track of the season, Berry managed to outmaneuver his competitors, choosing the right lanes and the perfect tire strategy, to secure his first Cup Series win. This victory also marked the 101st for the team. Berry, the most successful driver of the CARS Tour’s Late Model Stock Car division, attributes his success to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Berry’s journey to racing stardom didn’t start on a silver platter. With no financial backing or a renowned family name, his entry into the sport was through DMP Online Racing simulators. In 2008, while racing Legend Cars, Berry’s path crossed with Earnhardt Jr. A brief conversation about Berry’s ambition to race Late Models was the first step towards piloting a car for Junior Motorsports.
On the ‘Rubbin is Racing’ podcast, Berry reminisced about his initial encounter with Earnhardt Jr., stating, “I got into racing online and specifically what became iRacing…it was a way to race and be competitive and it didn’t cost a lot of money…I got really fortunate to meet Dale Jr. on there… he ended up saying hey man you want to what do you want to do? And I was like man I’d really like to just drive a late model… he [Dale Jr.] put together a test for me in his late model program.”
Berry’s performance exceeded Junior’s expectations, cementing his place as the all-time wins leader in CARS Tour overall and CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour. His 100 wins for JRM include 95 Late Model victories and 5 in the Xfinity Series. His 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Championship win led Earnhardt Jr. to offer him a spot in the Xfinity Series for a 12-race agreement, marking the start of his journey in the #8 car. This agreement extended into a full season in 2022 where Berry made it to the final 4 in Phoenix.
Berry’s Cup Series debut came in 2023, running his second full Xfinity Series season. A full Cup season followed with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024, where he made his mark with two top-5s and was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award. Despite Stewart-Haas Racing disbanding in 2025, Berry had already been announced as the pilot for Wood Brothers Racing’s #21 car in June 2024. Now in his second year, Berry is showing his mettle, outshining the team’s performance in the last two seasons combined.
Earnhardt Jr. was ecstatic about Berry’s success, and has always been one of his biggest supporters. When Berry took his first Cup win, he was the only one who had predicted it. Junior was on edge until Berry secured his victory, stating on the Dale Jr. Download, “When you get in those moments, like if you’re not doing it, like if you’re not out in the car, you’ll probably experience this someday, like I can’t even watch. I bet that there are a lot of people just like me in your world that were the same way.”
Berry’s first call after his win was to his mentor, Earnhardt Jr., acknowledging the significant role he played in his career. An emotional Junior expressed his gratitude for Berry’s call, saying, “Going to Victory Lane, having that genuine Victory Lane experience and I’m thankful to the Facetime call, that meant so much to me that with all the people you wanted to connect with in the moment, you reached out to me.”
With his victory, Berry paid tribute to Junior by emulating his celebration style from his 2014 Daytona 500 win. Instead of extravagant burnouts, Berry chose to sit on the hood of his car, absorbing the moment. He revealed on the Dale Jr Download podcast, “A lot of what I did was from your celebration that night, right? Like I was, man, that’s what I wanna do. I mean, I’m not a big smokey burnout, you know, blow the tires out, the type of guy.”
With his first win of the season already secured, all eyes are on Berry as he gears up for the 2025 playoffs. It remains to be seen whether he can maintain his winning streak in the #21 car for the rest of the season.
