Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 eero Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Racing, will have an interim crew chief for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Zach Sturniolo of NASCAR.com reports.
Berry, who won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Spring 2025 while driving the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will have Jefferson Hodges, the NASCAR Team Manager for Team Penske, serving as shot-caller for the Hendersonville, Tennessee-native.
Hodges is filling in for Miles Stanley, the full-time crew chief of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, who Sturniolo says, according to the organization, is unable to be at the racetrack this weekend at Las Vegas – a planned absence for the leader of Berry’s team.
The last time Hodges served as a crew chief in NASCAR’s National Series was the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Phoenix Raceway, where he served as the crew chief for Mike Skinner in the No. 45 Toyota for Eddie Sharp Racing – earning a 24th-place finish. Hodges, in 2009, also served as crew chief for Kevin Conway for R3 Motorsports.
This is the second time this season that Stanley has not travelled to the racetrack to serve as shot-caller for the No. 21. In May, Stanley missed the race at Kansas Speedway due to personal reasons and was replaced by Matt Swiderski. Berry finished 27th that day.
Berry has been able to put together a strong run of finishes as his Wood Brothers Racing tenure comes to an end, collecting top-10 finishes in seven of the last nine NASCAR Cup Series events, dating back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This weekend will mark a return to the site of Berry’s only NASCAR Cup Series win.
