NASCAR Cup Series rookie Josh Berry recently secured a spot with the legendary Wood Brothers Racing for the 2025 Cup Series season. However, there has been no official announcement regarding the future of current crew chief Rodney Childers in the No. 4 Ford Mustang. Josh Berry will compete in his first full-time season with Stewart-Haas Racing, replacing 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, who announced his retirement after the 2023 season.
However, the 33-year-old Berry was on the free agent market after SHR announced it would close the team at the end of this season. After several rumors and speculations, Berry & Wood Brothers Racing confirmed their partnership, with the No. 4 driver replacing current No. 21 driver Harrison Burton. However, the future of the working relationship between Childers, a crew chief for a former Cup Series champion, and Berry remains unclear. After Berry signed with WBR, Childers expressed his gratitude to the Tennessee native in ‘X’: “I can’t express how happy I am for him. He’s worked so hard for so long to get this opportunity. This four-man team is so grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of showing the world what we can do.” “He’s a winner and has a great future ahead of him,” Childers wrote.
Because it’s unlikely that Childers will join Berry in the No. 21 Ford at WBR, a reporter from Motor Racing Network believes that the crew chief for the No. 21 car will come from a Penske Group team after Berry competes for WBR in the 2025 Cup Series season. . Here’s what Chris Wilner wrote for X-Handle:
“It was announced this morning that Josh Berry will join us in 2025 to drive the iconic No. 21 Ford. The team has yet to announce his crew chief, but there are indications that he’ll likely be from the Penske Group.”
Rodney Childers’ possible future after the 2024 season
Rodney Childers will begin a partnership with #4 Josh Berry as crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing starting with the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Prior to Berry, Childers welcomed NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick as crew chief for the SHR team in 2014. Harvick and Childers then won the 2014 Cup Series and stayed together until Harvick retired from the Cup Series last season.
At this time, Childers’ future remains uncertain as the co-owners of SHR have announced the closure of the business. Additionally, #4 Berry will move to Wood Brothers Racing without Childers as crew chief. However, well-known journalist Bob Pockrass indirectly sheds light on Childers’ possible future: “I would be a bit surprised if Childers stays with SHR (and I don’t think he’ll finish 21st)… and I would be a bit surprised if Cole Custer isn’t the driver of Haas’ Cup car, as the factory team will be,” Pockrass wrote.
With SHR closing, SHR co-owner Gene Haas announced that the team would continue to participate in the Cup Series with a single car charter under the new brand name “Haas Factory Team.”
