JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry has expanded his schedule for the 2021 NASCAR season, albeit in a different series. He will join Rackley W.A.R. for three races in the Camping World Truck Series, replacing Timothy Peters. Berry will get behind the wheel of the No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet Silverado at Texas Motor Speedway (June 12), Nashville Superspeedway (June 18), and Pocono Raceway (June 26).
Rackley W.A.R. co-owners Willie Allen and Curtis Sutton announced in early June that the team and Peters had mutually agreed to part ways after 10 starts and only one finish inside the top-20 (16th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway). Peters sits 21st in points with an average finish of 25th.
“We appreciate the foundation that Timothy Peters has brought Rackley W.A.R.,” Allen said in a statement, per Jayski. “We wish Timothy the best in his future racing endeavors. As a team, we remain focused on the remainder of the season.”
Berry only has two Truck Series starts in his racing career. He finished 13th at Chicago in 2016 while driving for Contreras Motorsports. Berry returned to the Truck Series in 2021, finishing 22nd at Atlanta while driving for Kris Wright Motorsports.
Berry Will Run Double-Duty During Two Race Weekends
GettyJosh Berry drives the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet Camaro.
As Berry prepares to make his first starts for Rackley W.A.R., he will also finish out his portion of the 2021 season at JR Motorsports. Berry originally agreed to run the first half of the Xfinity Series season in the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro until Sam Mayer turned 18 and took over as the full-time driver.
Berry currently has two starts remaining on his 12-race contract with JR Motorsports. He will make starts at Texas Motor Speedway and at Nashville Superspeedway before handing over the removable steering wheel. The former will feature Berry competing in the Truck Series race at Texas at 1 p.m. ET and then heading to the Xfinity Series race at 4 p.m. ET.
The weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, on the other hand, will provide Berry with some rest between races. The Camping World Truck Series race will take place on Friday, June 18. The Xfinity Series race will take place on Saturday, June 19.
Berry Could Return to the Xfinity Series After Nashville
GettyJosh Berry (left) races at Mid-Ohio.
While Berry’s time in the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro comes to an end after a trip to Nashville Superspeedway, it may not be his final Xfinity Series start of the season. There is another potential option in Jordan Anderson Racing.
The small racing team sat out the first 10 weeks of the season after rain disrupted qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 31 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet Camaro made its 2021 debut on May 22, 2021, after Tyler Reddick qualified into the race at Circuit of the Americas. He ultimately finished eighth and then returned to the No. 31 for a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finishing fifth.
Following the two races with Reddick as the wheelman, Berry got behind the wheel of the No. 31 and made the first road course start of his career at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He experienced minor setbacks during the race but turned in an eighth-place finish, moving JAR to 40th in points and guaranteeing that the team can compete at Texas.
According to Jayski, there are discussions taking place about Berry’s future. He could potentially return to JAR after his final two races with JRM, providing even more opportunities to compete in 2021 and impress potential sponsors.
“I think that was our plan to maybe put some stuff together,” Berry said, per Jayski. “Obviously there’s a lot to figure out, but today was a great step in that. I wanted to come here and do a good job for this group, which we did. We’re going to home and talk about it and figure out what we can do coming up.”
Berry entered the season with few opportunities to impress but put on a show in multiple races. Berry won at Martinsville, finished top-five three times, and top-10 six times. Berry also secured the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus at Dover International Speedway.
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Josh Berry Adds Three Races to 2021 Schedule