got call Bob first don't we all you good there he is all right everyone thanks for joining us uh this morning here at the Ford tech center obviously we're here to announce that Josh Barry will be the driver for the number 21 Wood Brothers Ford Mustang Darkhorse in 2025 let me briefly introduce everyone on the stage I think everyone knows everybody but to the far left is the Chief Operating Officer of Wood Brothers Racing Lenn wood next to him as the chief executive officer Eddie Wood Josh Barry driver and president of Wood Brothers Racing John Wood so what we'll do is I'll just ask an introductory question here to each and then we'll open it up to question and answers from our friends in the media and John uh what kind of went into this decision and how did you land on Josh I think Josh was the obvious choice um we had to to look at at Chase first with with the relationship we had with Ford and he has with Ford but when it was obvious that wasn't going to work out um you know Josh was was by far in way the the top prospect and he being a Ford driver works but I mean the his results speaks for themselves aside from that and um you know we're just happy it worked out Josh what does this opportunity mean to be able to drive for one of nasar's original teams and with such an iconic history in sport well I mean first and foremost just the the history The Heritage the the family atmosphere that the wood that the Wood Brothers provide I this really feels like a great fit for me I feel like I fit their brand and who they are and how I've got here how they've got here I feel like this is a great fit um I've really enjoyed my relationship with Ford and to continue that on was was something that's important to me and and I appreciate and I'm thankful for to have that opportunity and Ian it really just means a lot to to drive an econic car like like the 21 um I feel like that it's a it's a great opportunity for me uh I feel ready to provide results and I think that all in all this is going to be a great relationship I know you have a notebook for performance on the track but you might need a notebook to get all the history and all the stories that you're going to hear over the course of your time with the team because they've got so many uh Eddie you know this isn't a decision that is taken lightly because there are other factors and stuff you know that go into this can you just kind of talk about from your perspective what some of those factors are that landed on Josh well I mean basically like John said um we had to to talk to chase first because he had a relationship with with Ford Motor Company Ford performance through the uh development series it went back a number of years uh so that didn't seem like that was going to work out um he already had an offer when we got there uh but we we had Josh in the back of our mind anyway and um when you know everything unfolded like it did we were just really excited to to get to talk to to Josh and we didn't waste any time doing ink we got two I think we met Monday after Sonoma Sonoma yeah just like right away and um it was a real easy process and um we're just happy that U he's with us and Len you've seen a lot of drivers come through your your family's race team what kind of qualities have you seen in Josh to kind of make him a good fit for your organization you know we started hearing Josh's name um like who won Hickory Josh Barry who won Tri County Josh Barry wait a minute you know that kind of stuck in the back of our head from you know years ago I think when he came in and uh drove for Chase when he had his Chase Elliot when he had his leg problem um he did he did really well you know he adapted quickly uh you know there was I think it was a race uh Darlington that he didn't have a good qualifying lap started in the back finishes third you know that that kind of catches your eye uh and then the last few weeks uh he's been pretty much up front at the end of each re each race so that's what we're looking for when he substituted for Hendrick you know that that was pretty eye opening I mean it's yeah he can tell you but I can't the these cars are monsters and and to have have no experience in a in a nextg car or a cup car and to to to hop in that thing and go like he did at different types of tracks um I mean it it it gave every one of us pause and you you don't really know it at the time it's not something that you're you're aware of you're not like well this might be our next driver but you still remember it and and it stood out all right if you've got a question here in the uh audience raise your hand I'll bring you the mic and we'll just kind of knock out a few questions here we'll start here with John go ahead John John new Al driver I was curious can you talk about you know like the crew chief that Josh will be paired with want me to answer that I mean we're stunned that that's a question first first and foremost um you know that the crew chief part hasn't been worked out yet there's a lot of good people uh at Team Pinsky we have a really good team now and and um that's just not something that we've really addressed Zach stolon nascar.com Josh for you and your journey um I know about this time last year was when you joined shr and you said recently that you didn't expect to be looking for a job a year later but to to land here with a team as uh that is as rich in history as Wood Brothers is um how can you sort of sum up what these last couple of years through getting the xinity ride full-time to where you are today um what these last few years have been like from your perspective yeah it's definitely been a a whirlwind really from going uh you know 2020 was the weekly series National Champion uh on the NASCAR side of things late Moder racing fulltime and and and really didn't believe that you know opportunities outside of that were coming my way and I've just been very thankful very fortunate to to have a lot of great people behind me that have have given me opportunities but also opportunities that have provided results and allowed me to you know continue on this path so um yeah it's been a lot going on the last last few years um you know I'm still I'm really thankful for for Dale and Kelly LW everybody at Junior Motorsports obviously everybody um I called Tony last night Tony was you know super excited for this you know he spoke so highly of the Wood Brothers and the people that they are and they feel like that this is a great great fit for me and and you know I'm thankful for Tony and Jean and the opportunity they had at steuart hos racing that you know landed me here and you know now I have a have a new opportunity ahead of me um you know for next year which I'm really excited for I think it's a great fit for me I have a great opportunity to to come in here and and help be a part of of getting them back to running where they want to run and where they expect run and I have the same expectations I feel like that U between everyone here at the wood Brothers Between the affiliation at Team Pensky and Ford I think we have the pieces in place to be competitive and I think where I'm at with the next gen car I think we'll be able to hit the ground running any more questions Dustin Shirley you've got a question or two Dustin long NBC Sports um look there's there's a lot of history um and there's a lot that's been put forth into this effort what what does Josh bring that helps potentially helps bring this team to the next level to get that win I know there's still time to get that that a victory this season that 100th win this year with with Harrison but what is it that is going to carry this organization forward beyond what you guys have gone through the last couple of years for anybody out there well I mean for for my side of things I mean they're there I feel like they're getting somebody that's not going to quit and I mean I've worked worked way too hard at this and and done it for so long that um you you can't beat somebody that that gives up and I've had to grind it out for years to get to get to this point and I feel like I've I've proven myself over and over again and I mean I feel like I'm I'm ready for this this challenge next what he [Laughter] said Jordan you got a question what Jordan bian the athletic John or anybody wants tress this what what do you feel like the team has been missing the last few years because you you compare your performance to team Pensky and I know it's different but it's also the same in a lot of respects I'm just curious is there something else Beyond just the driver that you guys feel like that he brings to the team or you guys need to kind of improve upon I mean we need to be better you know that that's there's no secret in that um this is a a business that's based on chemistry and it's a a business that's based or a sport that's based on results and right now we're just not having those results um you know if Harrison share some of the the responsibility if it's on us you know we're not pointing fingers we're not we're not here to say this one's at fault that one's at fault we're just not where we need to be and and so finding that right chemistry and balance to to to have those results in performance that's that's what we're looking for yeah like what John said a race team is not unlike a football team or a baseball team probably more like a football team you can have the greatest people in the world and it not work you can't really figure out why um I used to make fun of people when they would say well the chemistry is not work and you need this and that I believe that now especially with this race car this race car is is so different um from what we grew up with and and you know worked and raced all our life it's just so different and it's so many little we used to go to Talladega we go we go Dayton in Talladega four times during the winter just to get ready for the 500 and you would go be there four days of each to gain one tenth and you felt like you've done something if you did that then you go home cut the body off and do all that but now it's like you raise Speedways every week road courses short tracks everything matters everything on the on the cars matter your you know where you are your track position pick Crews every this the tiniest thing matters and um there's no leeway you used to have a little bit of a cushion if you got a little bit behind you could even make it up in pits or you know sometimes change Sho tires versus for just there was always a way but now you got to do it all right all day long and you know when things aren't working and you like I said we've struggled um I we can't figure it out either I mean it's it's really hard the cars are just so equal I yeah you know then then that it's just hard and um some some things don't you know people get with other people and it clicks and you don't know why but and if if you're one of the fortunate ones when things you get together with a group and it clicks you don't ask why you don't care but um yeah it's just it's just a really hard sport right now uh first congratulations all around but thank you Josh can you talk about uh the range of emotion uh for you and your family glad that they're here today from the moment that forward turned to for sale to the signing of this deal well I think um you know we've we've been through this for a decade right she's been with me through late model racing all the way up to you know this change in our lives but um I mean really the message you know throughout all that was really simple and that was to go out on the track and and perform the best we can and you know I I mentioned this a month ago but it brought me back to a conversation I had with Dell junr years or last year when I was at Hendrick and he he you know we were having talk you know he he called me almost every week and talked to me about talked me through all my emotions and what I was dealing with at that time and um you know he's like man you you're at your best when your backs against the wall and you have to go out and perform he's like that's what makes you you and and you know I thought back to that uh you know this year with with everything going on and obviously steuart hos going away right that just provided us opportunity to go out and perform that was the only option really I mean I the emotions of it yeah it's it's difficult sometimes um but you know we we've raced together it's and we've always focused on performing whether we're at Hickory or Martinsville or Charlotte right I mean that that's what ultimately you know the the you know my character and what I bring to the race team and and being able to uh keep these opportunities and and get these opportunities was what you know got me here but also performing on the racetrack so the main focus the whole time was to uh do everything we could to do that and and I think over the last couple months I thought we did a good job of doing that clar be Lang you know I I I'm thinking about how much the driver plays into it when you try to turn a team around or make progress on a team you watch Kyle Bush and his struggles over at Richard chis you watch brag kazlowski a part owner uh and it's very interesting to watch from the outside for the Wood Brothers how much can a driver make a difference is a more mature driver uh you know roll your sleeves up kind of more technical driver versus a younger driver still learning guy's been around and for the driver how much of a difference you know when you watch these other drivers who've tried this to move into a race team and try to help it what are your thoughts about that and also for the Wood Brothers um you know for my side of things right like it's it's going to be it's going to be a new challenge and and I don't you know I know that you know we spoke spoke early on the Rodney piece and you know Rodney and I have had a great relationship for sure but you know this opportunity come about and they came to me and said hey we want to get you signed up first we want to get our driver that we want and then we're going to go to work with you and whoever else that we we're going to meet with whether that's at Team Pensky or you know wherever uh and and try to iron this out and figure out what's the best fit you know cuz because what I have learned this year is how and I think you know they they spoke on it that how important the the culture is and the fit and the belief between the driver and the crew chief and the ownership and the management and the team U that's what I've learned the most about this year is how how important that is and that's just another layer to me that I've learned to appreciate and understand and and I think now we're going to we're going to attack this together and and go through and make whatever changes or no or no changes that we feel to make to to give me what I need and give us what we need to go be competitive um and really that that's the extent of it but you know they were everyone was very clear to me that they wanted to get this part first they wanted my commitment first before they went to building around me and and I appreciated that and understood it I think when you plug a driver into a new team it seems this car the results change more faster than any other prior car you look at Justin Haley I mean who would have imagined that um not really wanting to give him credit for it but hos ofar um same thing like you know it it's you you can use your own judgment and how you feel about this and if I'm right or wrong but you know just just those two changes you know they they started having results and it gets back to the chemistry thing it's not it's not that it's a driver's fault that it's not working out it just seems like a driver can make a change with this car quicker or something then then to add to that it's like anybody in this room can explain dirty air I mean you got a car and it's just kind of off subject but let's say you're running 25th and you're you can't even see the car in front of you you don't pick up but the leader if he's in that spot he's half a second 3/4 second faster than you I've never understood that my whole life um but to answer Claire's question kind of we've had all different ages of drivers we've had some like had Bill Elliott and he was over 50 and all that worked you know it's just um it gets back to what you know John and Josh said it's about chemistry Jim motosport.com question for John and a question for Josh for John um this you haven't been in your new role very long but what uh having been a former driver what is it uh how has it been stepping in and uh tackling right away a driver change and what do you see the Wood Brothers role in NASCAR going forward I don't really see that my role has changed that much um the way that we the way that our family runs this business is we all just pull together and and address whatever issue or whatever task needs to be handled um never really worried about titles never really never really mattered now I feel like today's NASCAR is a little different it kind of calls for those titles and names but outside of on paper that doesn't really mean anything um we all do what needs to be done and nobody really we just all get along and get it done that's I mean I I don't really have any other way of explaining it what do you what do you see as the RO Brothers future in the sport well if You' asked me 10 years ago would we be sitting here in this position I would have felt like I'd have been watching it from home um we've had so many close calls so many opportunities that other teams did and would have failed and somehow we made it through and and whether that's making a right decision or whether that's relationships being good people them being good people I'm questionable um I don't know what did it but I mean to to make it to make it 74 coming up on 75 years you had to have done something right and um some people a lot of people a lot of times questions the decisions we make makes it tough be on Twitter and Facebook anymore but uh you know they they they give us a hard time at times and you kind of gotta take that and and and brush it off because again the the the mindset and the decisions that they make in the end seem to be right so I just trust in in their judgment and and try to to be right and for Josh uh with your next year uh plans certain you've had quite uptick in performance um in the last several weeks with the sort of uncertainty around uh shr towards the end of the year uh do you feel like you can still continue that and hope to continue that to finish out this season yeah I feel like we can we can continue that um you know we have a great group over there and they're all really motivated to uh you know continue to to get better like we have throughout the season um it's going to get harder and harder you know as we probably lose people here or there you know it's definitely going to get more and more difficult as the distractions get you know more but you know all in all we have we have a great group I think our cars have been running well and I I see no reason to think that that um you know the the wheels are going to fall off the wagon I guess so to speak I I feel like we can keep doing what we're doing I I'm not you know I'm I'm not going to let us fail just like like Rodney said I'm going to do everything I can to to keep that deal going as strong as we can week in and week out I owe it to those guys for the opportunity that they gave me and how they believed in me and and I'm fully committed to to uh you know continuing to battle all the way to Phoenix lwis Frank of Reuters for Josh um I hate to ask yeser no question is it fair to say the least stressful part of your professional life is actually driving race cars over these last few years um I don't know I don't feel you know I don't really feel like I carry a lot of stress throughout this whole process right um you know I say this all in all again you know four years ago I was racing late models building late models driving my truck and trailer to the racetrack racing one of my buddies went in all over the southeast um getting to go you getting an opportunity to go driving the Xfinity series and now the cup series I mean I I'm still really grateful to be here and have this opportunity and and I don't I enjoy doing this and and you know I think I think back to who I was five years ago and to tell that person that I would be sitting here with with Lynn and Eddie Wood and John and getting ready to go drive the 21 car I wouldn't believe it you know I just like I wouldn't have believed that I was replacing Kevin Harvick so I me at this point I feel like anything's possible and I feel like that um my resume you know even outside the race car has helped me tremendously and in the race car as well and I just feel feel like that you know even through all this I felt like if we just went out and performed everything would take care of itself and you know obviously I have I have a ton of great supporters with you know you know obviously with with Josh Jones and Kevin Harvick at KI management and and everything that we worked through you know I felt confident that if I just went and did my job that things would work out and and thankfully they did I've got a couple from Bob um from the the iPad he's texted me a couple questions here so Josh um he he said John mentioned about how you guys aren't set for a crew chief yet but but he wanted to know how much your experience of the last two years working with different crew chiefs in your substitute roles gives you experience in adapting with whoever your crew chief happens to be I think I've grown tremendously in that that area um you know working with several different guys I think I have a much clearer picture you know when I first sat in the and and got an expended car I really didn't have a clear picture on what I needed as a driver or or what I wanted necessarily um I was just kind of happy to be there um in a way and and now after working with several different guys I think I have a clear picture of what I'm looking for and um I think that that'll help us through the process right we're going to like like I said earlier we're going to work together through this and find the right fit um everybody you know is going to deserve a fair opportunity at figuring out what we want to do but but I I feel like I have a a good understanding and and I think that should should help the process too and then his followup is uh what do you think it says about your performance during your rookie season that you were able to land this ride with a relatively short time to show what you can do yeah I think it goes back to even last year the opportunities at HMS uh working through that in a couple different cars um and then yeah this you know this period um I still even though we've had some bumps in the road um and things that I wish I could do over or mistakes that I've made I mean we're still sitting you know we're we're outside the playoffs but we're on the grid right we're in the pitcher which is cool and I I think we can win a race and I mean I think that says a lot for for a rookie in this series um we've been in contention the last few weeks we and I think we have some good tracks coming up that that if we do the right things and execute we can find ourselves in that position again