The confirmation that Josh Berry will not return to Wood Brothers Racing for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season was not exactly a huge surprise, given Berry's recent struggles behind the wheel of the No. 21 Ford.
Berry earned his first career victory in the No. 21 car in March 2025 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he really hasn't been much of a factor since. In 16 starts this year, he's yet to finish higher than ninth and is 30th in the point standings.
Even a year ago, Berry would have been one of just two playoff drivers who would not have made the playoffs had the current postseason format been implemented one year early, and he wouldn't have been close.
With Berry out, Harrison Burton, who competed for the team from 2022 to 2024, remains the only driver since Ricky Rudd (2003 to 2005) to run more than two consecutive seasons in the iconic No. 21 car.
NASCAR silly season not slowing down
While Berry's replacement for 2027 has not yet been confirmed by the Wood Brothers, the announcement of his departure has solidified the fact that this year's silly season is already more chaotic than it was a year ago.
From 2025 to 2026, there were only two driver lineup changes. Just one driver who competed full-time in 2025 did not return in 2026.
Connor Zilisch moved up from JR Motorsports in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, replacing Daniel Suarez behind the wheel of the No. 99-turned-No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and clinching Rookie of the Year honors simply by showing up to the Daytona 500 since there are no other newcomers in the garage this year.
Suarez moved to Spire Motorsports as the replacement for Justin Haley behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet. Haley dropped down to the Craftsman Truck Series full-time with Kaulig Racing's new Ram Trucks program, after having previously competed for the team full-time for five seasons across the O'Reilly Series and the Cup Series.
This year, there have already been more changes for 2027 than there were for 2026, and it's only mid-June.
Of course, one such change was never supposed to happen. Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who was a pending free agent, was in line to announce a contract extension with Richard Childress Racing at Michigan International Speedway in early June, but he passed away in May.
The team opted to set aside the No. 8 Chevrolet and run the No. 33 Chevrolet for Austin Hill, who competes full-time for the organization's O'Reilly Series team, for the rest of 2026. A driver hasn't yet been announced for 2027, although the plan is to continue using the No. 33, with the No. 8 now reserved for Kyle's 11-year-old son Brexton.
The other lineup change was one that many fans were actually hoping would happen a year ago. 23XI Racing development driver Corey Heim is finally set to replace Riley Herbst behind the wheel of the team's No. 35 Toyota in 2027. Herbst expects to announce his own future plans in the coming weeks, although whether they include the Cup Series remains to be seen.
All things considered, that's three of the 36 chartered cars that will not have the same drivers in 2027, and there are plenty of others that could very well join that list, given potential retirements, performance-related replacements and changes, and even pending charter transactions between teams.
Silly season a year ago was truly one of the most mundane silly seasons in Cup Series history, and it might be quite some time before NASCAR ever sees one as low-key as 2025's was. It definitely won't happen this year, as the Berry announcement surely won't be the last big move of free agency.
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