RICHMOND, Virginia – His JR Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott won Friday night’s Virginia529 College Savings 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, but the attention after the race wasn’t solely focused on that, but rather the dynamic and brilliant performance of late model racer Josh Berry.
Berry in his third career XFINITY Series race and first of the season honed his short track skills and showed his ability beyond his experience in the No. 88 Speedco Chevrolet Camaro much to the delight of team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The Hendersonville, Tennessee native qualified a career-best fifth Friday afternoon and throughout the race, he soared to as high as second and never fell below 11th before finishing a career-best seventh in the 250-lap race.
If not for being blocked on pit road during the crucial final pit stops, Berry likely would have found himself inside the top-five and contending for a victory, instead of climbing from a deep hole with few laps remaining.
Nonetheless, his effort in his only planned XFINITY Series start of the season was more than enough to ignite a fuse amongst his peers, media and fans alike that the 24-year-old belongs a full-time competitor on the tour.
Earnhardt Jr. says, however, that can’t happen without a partner (sponsor).
“I’m ready to race Josh every week,” Earnhardt said. “We’ve just got to find a partner.”
Even race runner-up Kyle Busch took notice of Berry’s superb run.
“He (Josh Berry) did a great job. Drove by me,” said Busch. “I think he was third or fourth at one point today and looked pretty good. All those JRM cars were pretty fast tonight. Josh just couldn’t fire off on the short run, not sure what was going on there. He did a great job holding his own and coming home with a solid finish tonight”
Speedco, which sponsored the effort Friday night at Richmond isn’t financially sound to carry the multiple million dollar weight of a full-time program for Berry next season, but the stout performance from the Tennessean may have been enough to attract the support of an unbenounced partner.
Time will tell.
Berry, a two-time late model champion at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway feels with the blessings of his JR Motorsports owners he’s ready for the next endeavor of his racing career, but also realizes it may never come to fruition.
It can often be said today that a flaw of Motorsports is the absence of pure natural raw talents that remain on the sidelines in a sport now infused by sponsorship or private dollars. While true, it’s a fact of life in NASCAR.
Money supplants talent.
Even for JR Motorsports.
While the team’s 2016 XFINITY Series plans remain unannounced, Earnhardt said Friday night at Richmond he plans to have three XFINITY Series teams next year, with the addition of a fourth team plausible, if sponsorship materialized.
Winning the jackpot in Las Vegas or cashing on a mega millions pay day may be easier for Berry than finding that perfect marketing partner, but Berry is hoping that his performance amidst some of the sport’s biggest stars was enough to captivate someone in giving him that next big chance.
“I just tried to stay calm and focused,” said Berry. “Once I realized we were a legitimate contender that made me that more focused to try to keep going and keep digging and fighting for every spot.”
For Earnhardt, he remains hopeful that the driver he met online can carry the JR Motorsports torch to bigger and better things down the road.
“You never know who might have been watching the race,’’ said Earnhardt. “You never know who might want to be involved in a company like JR Motorsports or even not knowing there’s an opportunity. There’s a lot of people out there that may assume we’re full and we’ve got all the sponsors and partners we need. Someone might see that there’s an opportunity and call us up and show some interest in Josh and further his career.’’
And yet Earnhardt called the decision to run his champion driver at Richmond Friday night a “Hail Mary” pass, and even though it didn’t score the touchdown for the win, the performance may have been enough for the impossible to become possible and bring Berry hopes and dreams to reality.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
