Denny Hamlin’s victory at the Food City 500 in Bristol was anything but a dud. However, Stewart-Haas Racing turned up collectively to display another average performance, which resulted in them sitting 18th in the owner points table, tied with 23XI Racing. Meanwhile, rookie Josh Berry and his iconic #4 Ford put Tony Stewart’s team in a prime position to come out with something to show for at “The Last Great Colosseum” after qualifying P2 behind Ryan Blaney.

Berry, as well as, Blaney were only two of the numerous drivers who struggled with “tire management” at the repaved-to-concrete 0.533-mile short track. Safe to say almost all of the SHR contingent except one, Ryan Preece, faced problems at Bristol, as the race saw P13 Chase Briscoe, as well as P34 Noah Gragson, fall from their initial starting spots of 6th and 22nd respectively. Nevertheless, Tony Stewart’s #4 rookie remains optimistic after being a part of what he calls the “biggest s***show” he has ever seen.

Josh Berry not ruing a missed top-1o finish for Tony Stewart

After giving SHR dual top 10s in Stage 1 with Preece’s #41 Mustang Dark Horse, the rest of the stages saw Berry battle at Bristol admirably maneuvering through cautions and tricky tire gambles, until a late-race spinout for the #4 called the eighth caution of the race. Nevertheless, the 33-year-old Tennessean displayed his short-track maturity and controlled his Ford before it hit the wall.

Berry’s late race push was ruined and he managed to pull back a P12 finish at Bristol. When telling Adam Weaver how he felt about his outing, after the race, he said, “Man I haven’t ever seen anything like that. I guess we got our wish with the tires falling off…. It’s like they fell off a little bit, and then all at once, when they went to cords, so I don’t know. 

The All-time leader in wins for the CARS Tour overall, continued, “I guess I don’t know what the change is that you need there. Obviously, they need more rubber on them because we were running on fabric at the end. I think I finished with like three flat tires and the car was on fire at 11. But I don’t know I kinda had fun though, I’m not gonna lie.” 

“That might be the biggest s***show I’ve ever been a part of but it was kinda fun,” exclaimed Kevin Harvick’s successor in the #4.

Is SHR making a comeback at Austin?

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Speaking of Kevin Harvick, the 2014 Cup Series champ was calling the race for FOX from the broadcast booth at Bristol, as he must have been reminiscing over the last time he brought Tony Stewart a win at Bristol, with his 2020 win at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in September of that year.

Since Harvick’s departure last season, SHR has been in desperate need of a leader, and with the potential for greatness shining through amongst all four drivers, the team must collectively figure out ways to be consistently good throughout the season. It is also important to remember Harvick was the last to gift SHR a championship with his 2014 win now only a distant echo.

Nevertheless, there were positives to take from the quartet’s Bristol advance. Berry was the highest-finishing rookie and Chase Briscoe marked his third top-15 of the season while equalling his last-best finish at the repaved Bristol. Ryan Preece was phenomenal as well, driving past 11 drivers, from a P25 starting spot, to finish in P14. Noah Gragson was the only SHR driver to finish outside the 30 spot. What lies next for Tony Stewart’s organization? We’ll find out next week at COTA.

Josh Berry Narrowly Avoids Catastrophe After Wild 360-Spinout at Bristol