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Josh Berry Hopes CARS Campaign Strengthens NASCAR Efforts

MOORESVILLE, N.C. :: Josh Berry and JR Motorsports has decided to cast their lot full-time with the CARS Tour in 2016, believing its Late Model Stock division represents the best chance to graduate full-time to NASCAR.

A former Legends driver from Tennessee, Berry was discovered on iRacing by Dale Earnhardt Jr. back in 2010 and the two have worked together ever since. Earnhardt gambled on Berry by placing him in a Late Model and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.

He’s won track championships at Hickory and Motor Mile and has even made three XFINITY Series starts, with a best finish of seventh last fall at Richmond. He started four CARS Late Model Stock events last year and won three of them.

READ MORE: CARS Tour 2016 Media Day Notebook

Now he’s moving full-time to CARS in 2016, having enjoyed the exposure that came from winning there last season. At least, he’s full-time with one potentially complicated caveat later in the summer.

“I have a conflicting date with an XFINITY Series race in Iowa, so I might not be able to compete in all 10,” Berry said during the CARS Tour Media Day on Wednesday night. “But I’ll be doing a rain dance in Iowa for Orange County if there’s a point that we’re in championship contention. But that’s still a long way off so we’re not sweating that just yet.

“Other than that, we’re just going to run a bunch of Late Model Stock races around the region. We have our two NASCAR XFINITY Series races with SunEnergy1 on board at Iowa and Kentucky later in the summer. I’m excited to get the season going. We have SPEEDCO back on the Late Model. They give us an awesome paint scheme to bring to the track every week and we’re looking forward to getting back on the track.”

His boss has made no secret of his desire to get Berry full-time in the Trucks or XFINITY Series in the next couple of years. After his top-10 performance at Richmond in September, Earnhardt came to the media center and made an impassioned plea for potential sponsors to take a look at his 25-year-old prospect.

Earnhardt has self-funded a handful of Berry’s national touring appearances, but he just can’t pay for all of it, as much as he would like to.

“He’s like a lot of these guys — just one sponsorship away from being able to make a living as a race car driver,” Earnhardt said after the race. “He’s got the talent and the ability and I’m telling you, he’s just one domino away and if that domino falls, I think it’s something that will work and he’ll make it work.

“I know he can do it.”

Berry says Earnhardt did a great deal for his career and perception that night and was proud that his boss and friend would say that, even if it didn’t immediately result in a full-time ride.

“It was an unbelievable experience that’s the best way to put it,” Berry said. “That whole night was crazy. I was sitting in the media center next to Kyle Busch and then Dale came in and said the things he said. It was amazing.

“I just wish we could get something done. He did a lot for me that night and tried really hard to get me some backing. Fortunately we got a two-race deal which is more than what we had last year thanks to SunEnergy1 but it’s a difficult road. It shows you how difficult this is, that Dale could say all those great things and we still couldn’t figure out how to get more than what we got. Just know that we’re chipping away at it.”

That process begins next month at the CARS Tour opener at Southern National Motorsports Park on April 2. He will be paired with prospect Christian Eckes with a two-car JRM effort and both expect to be championship contenders. And if Berry wants to attract the sponsors needed to advance to NASCAR, he knows the CARS Tour platform just might be the best way to do it.

“The best thing about the series, and I can’t stress this enough, is that people pay attention to it,” Berry said. “It got me a lot of notoriety winning those two races last year. The online broadcasts give us a lot of exposure and they’re hoping for television too.

“The CARS Tour gives a lot of exposure for their drivers. My family can watch. Dale Jr. can watch. If your boss man can watch you win on TV at Hickory and Motor Mile, it doesn’t do anything but help the cause.”

Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

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