MARTINSVILLE, VA - MARCH 28: Josh Berry 21 Wood Brothers Racing DEX Ford talks to a crew member during practice for the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Cook Out 400 on March 28, 2026, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAR 28 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260328009
MARTINSVILLE, VA - MARCH 28: Josh Berry 21 Wood Brothers Racing DEX Ford talks to a crew member during practice for the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Cook Out 400 on March 28, 2026, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAR 28 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260328009
Apr 17, 2026, 5:09 AM CUT
Josh Berry Faces Kansas Test as Team Makes Last Minute Change
Ahead of the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, Josh Berry has temporarily lost his closest ally. Wood Brothers Racing Team will have one change on Berry's pit wall, with a new crew chief in place.
Let’s stop you before you put on your thinking hats. No, Miles Stanley is not leaving the team just yet. He remains the permanent crew chief, but won't be travelling for the race weekend at Kansas Speedway for personal reasons. In his absence, Matt Swiderski will be the acting crew chief for Josh Berry.
Swiderski is currently the performance engineering director for the team, and his resume is a heavy one indeed. He brings along five years of experience as a crew pit chief across Kaulig Racing and Trackhouse Racing.
He spent the last two seasons at Trackhouse Racing, leading Daniel Suárez and the No. 99 team. Prior to that, he spent three seasons at Kaulig Racing and has celebrated three Cup Series race wins as a crew chief: one with Suárez and two with AJ Allmendinger.
Miles Stanley has been Berry’s crew chief since Berry joined the No. 21 Wood Brothers squad ahead of the 2025 season. This is the first time Stanley will miss a race.
As for Josh Berry, he sits 25th in the Cup Series standings, with two top-10 finishes in eight races, with the most recent coming at Martinsville Speedway last month. At the Food City 500 in Bristol, the No. 21 Ford driver finished 32nd.
Similar Instances Of NASCAR Crew Chiefs Missing a Race
While Josh Berry's crew chief will miss the Kansas Cup race for personal reasons, there have been times when crew chiefs were forced to sit out after being suspended for various reasons.
In August 2025, William Byron's crew chief, Rudy Fugle, was ejected from the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Daytona after the No. 24 Chevrolet failed pre-race technical inspection. NASCAR officials said the team was observed making unapproved adjustments to the car, which resulted in the vehicle failing measurements.
Back in 2018, NASCAR suspended Alan Gustafson for two races as Chase Elliott's car did not have a rigid rear window during an O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 race in Texas.
However, there are other examples where crew chiefs missed races due to personal reasons. In 2023, Rodney Chliders missed the Watkins Glen race to attend to his mother, who had a health emergency, and Stephen Doran stepped in for him.
Another example is from 2014, when Greg Ives had to miss a race for the birth of his third child, and Ernie Cope replaced him as Chase Elliott's crew chief.
Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!
Written by
Aaradhya Singh
Edited by
Yask Kotak