Harrison’s driver Josh Berry and the No.4 Stewart-Haas Racing team will look to build on their success from the first two stages last week at Martinsville as they battle for a win in the Lone Star state at Texas Motor Speedway.
Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile track located in Fort Worth (TX) and Berry has had success on tracks of this size as three of his five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins were on 1.5 mile tracks (Las Vegas twice and Charlotte).
“Texas is a high-grip track and really fast,” said Berry. “Each corner is significantly different and takes a slightly different approach, which makes it challenging. But all of the skills from Xfinity I think will translate. Ultimately, my results from Xfinity don’t matter in my mind because I am with a new team, a new car, a new manufacturer, so it’s almost a clean slate, but I am excited for the opportunity to go with Stewart-Haas Racing. It’s obviously our second race on the intermediates but, on the team side, we know that’s where we need to improve the most. It’s a great opportunity to learn and keep improving before we get into the summer months.”
One thing that will help Berry going into Texas will be the man calling the shots from atop the box as crew chief Rodney Childers will be calling a race for the 33rd time this week at Texas Motor Speedway. At the track, drivers that have driven cars for Childers there have four pole positions, three wins, 11 top-fives, and 16 top-10 finishes.
With Berry’s two top-10 finishes in the first and second stages at Martinsville last week, he continues to lead the three other drivers runner for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. He was on his way to another strong finish to close out the race but trouble on pit road forced a 25th place finish at the Virginia track.
Through the early ups and downs of the season, one thing that his team has continued to praise about Berry is his preparation for each week and what he does each day to be ready on Sunday.
“Typically, on Monday, I try to take a little bit of time off and just reset for the next week, but I will review the race a little bit from the day before while it is still fresh in my mind – whether that is film or our data,” said Berry. “Tuesday is usually filled with team meetings to get the No. 4 group together and review the previous race, preview the next race, and just make sure we are all rowing in the same direction. Wednesday is usually a simulator day and more preparation work that I will do to tie up any loose ends before we get ready to travel. It is a busy week, but it ensures the No. 4 team and Stewart-Haas as a company are ready for Sundays.”
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