Good things tend to come in waves, and Josh Berry is currently riding a big one.
The 30-year-old Tennessee driver, who was yesterday named the full-time driver of JR Motorsports’ No. 8 Chevrolet for 2022, will have backing from sponsor Tire Pros in nine 2022 races.
“Tire Pros has been great, they’ve been big supporters of mine, and everything just clicked,” Berry said. “They were a huge part of me getting the 12-race opportunity this year. It all fit together. They’re a fantastic company that I’m proud to represent, so I am really thankful for them stepping up and making this happen.”
Based in Huntersville, N.C. and founded in 1981, Tire Pros is the nation’s largest network of elite, independent and locally owned tire dealers. Uniting over 600 dealers under a shared national brand, Tire Pros provides a broad suite of specialized tools and resources to help franchisees drive traffic to their stores, enhance operations and maximize profitability. Additionally, the company is backed by the power of American Tire Distributors (ATD), one of the largest independent suppliers to the replacement tire market with more than 130 distribution centers and over 80,000 customers across North America.
Berry showed Tire Pros colors well in his four races this year. On May 8 at historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Berry was driving a throwback Tire Pros paint scheme dedicated to team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s emotional victory in the 2001 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the first race there following the death of his father in that season’s Daytona 500. Berry chased teammate Justin Allgaier across the finish line to finish second, at a track he had only raced on once.
The following weekend at Dover International Speedway, Berry drove Tire Pros to another second-place finish in that race, winning a stage and leading 48 laps.
In his 13 races for JRM—he filled in for an injured Michael Annett at New Hampshire—Berry earned a victory at Martinsville Speedway and added four top-five and nine top-10 finishes, leading 151 laps. That total was second only to team leader Justin Allgaier over that span.
— Josh Berry —