NASCAR: ‘Worst kept secret’ to be revealed in ‘major announcement’
By Asher Fair
Stewart-Haas Racing have a “major announcement” planned for today, presumably to confirm Kevin Harvick’s replacement for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Earlier this week, the Stewart-Haas Racing NASCAR team revealed that they would be making a “major announcement” this Wednesday afternoon.
This is expected to be the announcement which confirms the replacement for the retiring Kevin Harvick behind the wheel of the No. 4 Ford for the 2024 Cup Series season.
They stated that Harvick, team co-owner Tony Stewart, crew chief Rodney Childers, and chief competition officer Greg Zipadelli would be in attendance for this “major announcement”.
The belief is that the worst kept secret of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series silly season will be confirmed during this “major announcement”.
Josh Berry has long been linked to Stewart-Haas Racing as Harvick’s replacement, and he is said to be finalizing a management deal with KHI (Kevin Harvick, Inc.) Management. He put himself on the radar of the Cup Series garage earlier this year when he filled in for the injured Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports and performed exceptionally well.
Berry, who spent time in the Xfinity Series from 2014 to 2017, returned to the series in 2021 as a part-time driver for JR Motorsports, and he won two races at Martinsville Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
He became a full-time driver in 2022 and won three races at Dover Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Las Vegas Motor Speedway en route to a Championship 4 appearance. Through 14 races this year, he sits in fifth place in the championship standings with 10 top 10 finishes and six top five finishes, including a top finish of second.
Whether or not Berry will drive the No. 4 Ford or a car with a different number remains to be seen, and sponsorship plans have yet to be detailed. Busch Light has been rumored to move on from Stewart-Haas Racing once Harvick retires to join Trackhouse Racing Team and Ross Chastain.
Harvick has already confirmed that he plans to join the Fox Sports broadcast booth full-time in 2024, joining lead announcer Mike Joy and former teammate Clint Bowyer.
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Berry replacing Harvick is set to make this coming offseason the seventh offseason in the last eight years during which Stewart-Haas Racing have made a driver change.