Editor’s Note: Today’s Wood Brothers Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2025 Cup Series season.
Wood Brothers Racing
Manufacturer: Ford
Engine: Roush Yates Engines
Driver-crew chief pairings: Josh Berry-Miles Stanley
Team outlook: For being one of NASCAR’s oldest teams, there is an abundance of change surrounding the famed organization. Last season, the torch was passed to the third generation of co-owners, who aim to keep pillars of family and racing as the team’s backbone going into its 75th anniversary season while building off its playoff run in 2024. That change starts with optimism in new driver Josh Berry and first-time crew chief Miles Stanley, who transitions over from Team Penske.
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Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
Experience: One full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series
2024 stats: 27th in final Cup Series standings; 2 top fives, 4 top 10s
2025 championship odds (DraftKings): 170-1
Outlook: Berry has a plethora of racing experience from late models to the Xfinity Series, which he’s no doubt relied on to crack seven top 10s in his 48 Cup starts. When it comes to flat short tracks, Berry has excelled with five of his career top 10s coming at tracks one mile or shorter. He is steadily improving at bigger tracks, but the key for him next year is to turn in more top-20 finishes consistently. Berry had a five-race stretch from the Talladega spring race to the Coca-Cola 600, where he finished 16th or better and sat 19th in points after the crown-jewel race, proving he can be a reliable hand behind the wheel at the Cup level. But his 16 finishes of 21st or worst from Gateway to Phoenix in the final 22 races also showed there’s still a lot he has to learn.
With one full season under his belt, there’s plenty of room for Berry to grow, especially at Wood Brothers. At age 35, his learning curve is arguably sharper than a prototypical sophomore-year driver, plus he comes to the No. 21 team as a driver with a solid foundation to build around for a single-charter organization.
BOLD PREDICTION: Wood Brothers will earn its 101st win this season. After waiting seven years to get win No. 100, it may not be long until the No. 21 Ford is back in Victory Lane. Given all the changes from top to bottom, there may be growing pains throughout the year. But Berry is a well known short-track ace, especially at tracks like Iowa, Richmond and New Hampshire where he’s a top-five threat. While Stanley is a rookie shot-caller atop the pit box, his experience of 11 years at Team Penske will come in handy if the perfect storm ever presents itself to steal a win.