Josh Berry on verge of delivering Dale Jr. CARS Tour title

Josh Berry has basically become an honorary Earnhardt.

Several times a month, when his No. 88 Late Model Stock is unloaded at tracks across the Virginias and Carolinas, the 26-year-old receives a welcome fit for a king or at least for Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself

Maybe it’s his employer, or his countless wins across the region, or maybe his blue collar background but Berry is perhaps the most popular Late Model Stock driver in the Carolinas. He’s driven for Earnhardt since 2010 and their resume together speaks volumes.

Berry remains the only JR Motorsports driver to win multiple championships for the organization, having won the CARS Tour owners title in 2016, a Hickory Motor Speedway track championship in 2014 and a Motor Mile track championship in 2014.

Now he’s on the verge of a CARS Tour driver championship with one race left to go on October 14 at South Boston Speedway. Berry trails Layne Riggs by just one point and will win his first touring championship if he can just finish ahead of the 15-year-old.

“Over the past three years or so, we’ve won a lot of races, but this year we haven’t had all the luck we’ve had before,” Berry said. “That’s kept us out of Victory Lane like we’ve used to. That’s just how racing goes though.

“I’m just thankful to have a job and have a ride. There is something to be said about that. So I’m just disappointed because I want to give them more wins. At least I’m here and we still have one more race and Riggs is going to have his hands full next month.”

The fact Berry is even in championship contention is notable because he lost sponsor Speedco at the end of last season. But Earnhardt self-funded the No. 88 for most of this season and did so because he believes in his friend and protégé.

“You know Josh is going to just keep on grinding,” Earnhardt said. “We did run into some financial challenges with our sponsorships for our Late Models for this season, but we have been able to stay competitive.  We’ve just had to be a little more selective about when and where we run.  So, Josh doesn’t get to race as often as he would like, but he is still able to put a quality car on the track and be competitive.”

Because of the support from Dale Jr., Kelley Earnhardt-Miller and LW Miller, Berry feels like he’s more than just an employee at JR Motorsports.

“They’ve definitely taken me in and made me a part of their family pretty much,” Berry said. “They’ve always been really supportive of me and give me everything I need to have success. That’s all you can ask for and then some.”

Earnhardt still wants to see Berry run a full season in NASCAR for one his Xfinity Series entries. He hopes his success in the Late Model Stock ranks generates interest to fund that program or even a national touring program.

“If we just go and run hard when we can and make a good showing and keep ourselves toward the surface so people can see us I think is all we can ask for right now,” Earnhardt said. “We are just one phone call away from a sponsor that is actually looking for a driver. That is rare in this sport…

“We make a lot of phone calls. We make a lot of cold calls. We have a lot of companies call us with interest, some of those interests are to be involved with the race teams or with the race cars, some are not. Some are personal service interest, but you never know, that phone call might happen tomorrow, but you’ve got to be at the phone when it does. So, we are still working to help Josh get that opportunity. I think he can do it.  So, we are still working in the direction.”

Winning the CARS Tour championship next month would certainly help a little.

“We’ve just been coming from behind all season,” Berry said. “We’ve had to be more selective this year. We’re a blown motor away from leading the standings by a mile. We’ve got a good thing going with both of our cars (Anthony Alfredo) and we’re going to do our best to make sure that one of these cars win it.”