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Josh Berry has had a lot of back-up experience as a Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series driver lately, but he still expects an adjustment period.
Berry, who competes full-time in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, last raced Chase Elliott’s #9 Chevrolet on oval tracks this season while recovering from a fractured tibia in his left leg sustained in a snowboarding accident.
Berry, 32, returns to double duty this weekend at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, driving Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Chevrolet in Sunday’s Cup race. Berry will fill in for Bowman, who is expected to miss three to four races while recovering from a fractured vertebra sustained in a sprint car race earlier this week.
In his five races as Elliott’s replacement, Berry posted a career-best second place finish at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and a top-10 finish at Phoenix. During his stint he became the 26th driver to finish in the top five with HMS.
“Everyone on the No. 48 team wishes Alex a speedy recovery and we hope to have him back once he is well. With Josh this weekend we’re lucky to have had him in the #9 car recently, we kind of know what comfort items we needed for the driver so we were able to bring him over here and get him fit,” said Blake Harris, Bowmans – and now Berry’s crew chief.
“We also did a simulator session with him so in terms of preparing for this weekend I feel we’re in as good shape as we can given we’re pressed for time to get the car to bring to Dover.”
Berry has two starts at Dover in the Xfinity Series, scoring a win (2022) and second place (2021) at those races. He led a total of 103 laps in these appearances. He also has a second place finish at Dover in the ARCA East Series.
“I don’t think we could go to a track that’s better suited to a plug-and-play type,” Harris said. “Our approach this weekend is to take it step by step, not making mistakes and making Josh comfortable enough to put the No. 48 in the race.”
Hendrick’s No 48 team have had a winning streak at Dover. Between Bowman and former driver Jimmie Johnson, the No. 48 has 40 starts overall, with a best 12 wins of the series, 20 top 5s and 29 top 10 finishes, and an average score of 9.33.
In fact, the team has finished 10th or better in their last five Dover starts. In the last 11 starts, the No. 48 has finished in the top 10 nine times, including two wins.