“Last year was hard”: Tony Stewart’s former team's driver reflects on the journey since SHR decided to call it quits in NASCAR 

Tony Stewart’s former team's driver, Josh Berry, has opened up about the difficult year he's had since the announcement that Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) would shut down. Berry talked about the team’s closure and his journey since during NASCAR media availability at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 16, 2025.

SHR announced in 2024 that it would stop operations after the season. Berry, who had replaced Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 car, was one of four drivers left without a seat.

“Last year was hard. We went through this stretch through the summer and had some good runs, showed some potential. There were races we were in contention, and then towards the end it got super hard just to be competitive.” Berry said

He admitted the team’s struggles shook his confidence. “You leave your season wondering how good you are at this stuff,” he added.

But that changed when Berry joined Wood Brothers Racing for the 2025 season. After a full offseason to build chemistry with his new team, things started clicking. Berry credited the entire group for the turnaround.

“I’m just really thankful for this opportunity that I’ve been in with the 21 team. It’s been such a great fit for all of us,” he said.

Berry’s first career Cup win came this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which locked him into the 2025 All-Star Race. His early-season speed has shown that he’s not just surviving post-SHR — he’s competing.

“We’ve been really fast and that’s what it takes to win these races,” Berry said.

“We’ve just got to work on the execution things a little bit better. That starts today, and if we can do that, I feel like there’s no reason why we can’t contend for this thing.” he added.

Berry’s success in 2025 also shows that Ford and KHI Management — the group that represents him — made the right calls. Staying within the Ford camp by moving to the No. 21 car has allowed Berry to continue building on his momentum without having to adjust to a new manufacturer.

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Tony Stewart’s first All-Star win proved the critics wrong — 15 years later, his team is gone

When Tony Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing and started Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) with Gene Haas in 2009, many people thought he wouldn’t succeed as a team owner. However, that notion changed quickly.

In May 2009, Stewart won the NASCAR All-Star Race while driving the No. 14 Chevrolet for SHR. That wasn’t just a personal win — it was SHR’s first major Cup Series moment, and it silenced a lot of doubters.

In an interview on SpeedFreaks on YouTube, Tony Stewart looked back on that night. He said,

“When we won the All-Star Race in May with Stewart-Haas Racing and guys were there crying in victory lane, I'm like, what is everybody crying about?” (7:48)

“In my mind, all I'm thinking about is all these people said I was going to fail, that I wasn't going to win another race in my career.”

A team member later explained to Tony Stewart that SHR had never won a Cup Series race before. That changed how he saw the moment. Stewart added,

“I'm like, 'holy crap! I've never thought about it.' I think it was really the first time in my life that a win mattered to me more for the guys than it did myself.”

From that point forward, SHR grew into one of the top teams in NASCAR. Over 15 seasons, SHR collected 69 Cup Series wins and 28 Xfinity Series victories. The team's final major highlight came in November 2024, when Riley Herbst won the Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway.