Josh Berry will not return to the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang in 2027, the 35-year-old announced in a Q&A on Wednesday. He’ll depart after two full seasons with the Wood Brothers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The revelation came after Berry was asked about his future by Dialed In Journal’s Claire B. Lang during a media availability with Ford Racing. Berry said he will not be back with the Wood Brothers, but that he’s optimistic about his future in NASCAR. The team itself later confirmed Berry’s announcement.
“I’m less than 24 hours from figuring this out,” Berry said according to RACER’s Kelly Crandall. “What I didn’t want to do was sit here and feed you guys a line, and then it gets announced in 30 minutes and look ignorant.”
Largely seen as a de-facto fourth Team Penske seat due to the teams’ technical alliance, the Wood Brothers No. 21 car carries lofty expectations. In 2025 Berry rose to the challenge, scoring his first career win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finishing 16th in the standings.
This year, on the other hand, has been far less kind to Berry. He sits 30th in the standings leaving Michigan, 136 points outside of a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric are both in the Chase, while Joey Logano only three points removed. Berry has yet to score a top-five finish in 2026. His average finish has plummeted from 21.7 to 26.1, the lowest mark in his three seasons of Cup Series racing.
Over the last decade-plus in NASCAR, Wood Brothers drivers have stayed in their seats shorter rather than longer. The last driver to run a fourth year with the organization was Elliott Sadler in 2002. None of Berry’s three most recent predecessors – Paul Menard, Matt DiBenedetto, and Harrison Burton – remained a full-time Cup driver after departing WBR.
Wood Brothers Racing Statement
Statement from Wood Brothers Racing pic.twitter.com/B5ByGzGYqb
— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) June 10, 2026
