On Wednesday, it was announced that Josh Berry would take over the No. 4 Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing for the departing Kevin Harvick. With that said, it brought up some key questions that need to be answered.

Who’s Sponsoring?

There’s been speculation that Anheuser-Busch would be leaving SHR at season’s end and be heading to Trackhouse Racing. SHR didn’t put water on those flames on Wednesday either saying that the 4 car is currently wide open for sponsorship and that they were talking to new and existing sponsors about filling that void.

Does Berry Bring Funding?

You’d think that in this day and age of racing, that if Berry is taking a sponsor less ride that he’d have to bring some kind of funding. In fact, he’s not. That wasn’t a deterrent for SHR to hiring him.

“I’m not interested in some kid’s father coming in and buying their way into the Cup Series,” Tony Stewart bluntly said during the press conference to announce the signing of Berry. “We want guys who earn their way, work hard and understand the values it takes to be a top tier driver, not one who just got his high school diplomas and now all of a sudden he wants to be a Cup driver.”

Who Else Was On The List Of Potential Candidates?

Tony Stewart made it clear that there wasn’t many. Crew Chief Rodney Childres has always been a big supporter of Josh Berry. Stewart was sold on Berry early on then. He said that the list wasn’t very long and one that he felt like Berry was also the guy that they wanted.

“We’re incredibly proud to have Josh Berry begin the next chapter of his racing career in our No. 4 Ford Mustang,” said Stewart. “Kevin Harvick has obviously set a very high bar, but Josh brings maturity, experience and, above all, a winning record to Stewart-Haas Racing. He is the right driver, at the right time, for the No. 4 team and our organization.”

Some may wonder then what about Zane Smith?

The team isn’t ready for him yet.

In theory, if Almirola returns in 2024, SHR would boast a lineup with 4 career wins (that’s if they don’t win at all in 2023). If Almirola walks too, out goes his 3 career wins leaving them with one.

Which is also why Smith is likely being passed over for this cycle and not even a candidate should the 10 car open. On the surface, it makes a ton of sense with the Ford connection to hop into either Harvick or Almirola’s cars in 2024, but the Berry signing signifies that the team isn’t ready for him yet.

They need to find solid grounding again and a lineup of Berry, Briscoe, Preece and Smith isn’t it. By all accounts, someone like Michael McDowell or even Ricky Stenhouse Jr. could be that stop gap. Both are veterans who can give SHR solid feedback and help get them back on the right track and both would allow Briscoe to become SHR’s A driver. Give them 2-3 years to get SHR turned around, let Smith run with Front Row Motorsports to get used to Cup racing for that time period and then bring him over once the team is solid again.

It would do no good for Smith to come over and struggle and he doesn’t have the experience to tell them what he needs and what this organization needs to become a weekly contender again.

Hence all these moves and why they’re occurring.

What’s Berry’s Potential?

Berry currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the stepping-stone division to the elite Cup Series. The 32-year-old from Hendersonville, Tennessee, is a five-time Xfinity Series race winner who advanced to the Championship 4 in 2022. Berry’s on-track exploits have made him the go-to solution for Cup Series teams in need of an interim driver. He has already made 10 Cup Series starts, highlighted by a second-place finish April 2 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway while subbing for the injured Chase Elliott.

So, what can he do with SHR?

I don’t think anyone is expecting him to come right in and win. This is a race winning car, but one that hasn’t been doing so as consistently as it once was.

Harvick has won three races over the last 2 1/2 seasons so it’s not like he’s winning in bunches like he used to. The other cars are all 25th or worse in points at the moment too.

Chase Briscoe (31st in points) only has three top five finishes and four top 10’s this season.

Ryan Preece sits 25th in his first year with the team without a top 10 all year. His best finish is 12th.

Aric Almirola is a disappointing 26th in points with just one top 10 finish (6th at Martinsville). He was 20th in points a year ago.

The thing is, SHR has won 69 total races as of this exact moment and Harvick has won 37 of them. In fact, from 2019 on, Harvick has 16 of SHR’s 19 wins with only Cole Custer (once), Aric Almirola (once) and Chase Briscoe (once) having won in that span.

So, while Berry is stepping into the flagship ride, he’s not going to necessarily be expected to just start winning and pick up where Harvick has left off. However, he’s going to have to get up to speed somewhat quickly though as between his age and SHR’s recent struggles, they want to expedite this process to being back to the top of the sport somewhat soon.

What About Other Rides?

That question wasn’t answered on Wednesday. We know Briscoe and now Berry are under contract for 2024. But, what about the other four (I’m counting both Xfinity Series drivers in this).

Aric Almirola signed just a one-year contract extension last August and has been ho-hum on returning.

Ryan Preece is reportedly also driving on a one-year deal.

Riley Herbst is in his third year with the team in the Xfinity Series while Cole Custer was demoted back down. His dad though is the President of SHR too, so I can’t just see him leaving.

So, with sponsorship being a thing to look for on the 4 car and if Almirola leaves, does Smithfield join them too? If that’s the case, that’s 2 cars without any funding in 2023.