Josh Berry lands part-time Xfinity ride with JR Motorsports

Berry, 29, is a veteran of the JR Motorsports Late Model program and recently locked up the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series title.

On Thursday, Earnhardt surprised Berry with the news on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio, revealing that he will run up to a dozen races in the first half of the 2021 season.

He will pilot the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro.

"You worked hard for this opportunity. We'll have more details in the coming months, but I wanted to let you know that we're going to go Xfinity race next year," said Earnhardt, leaving Berry speechless.

"I'm honestly speechless ... that's the last thing I would have expected," he told host Dave Moody.

"Gosh that's amazing. I cant wait to prepare for that and get going. Just truly unbelievable. I can't thank everybody enough for believing in me and giving me these opportunities. For a short track guy and doing what I do, it's just amazing when you see these opportunities come about."

It won't be Berry's first start in NASCAR's secondary division, having made seven NXS starts between 2014 and 2017. He turned heads at Richmond Raceway in 2015 where he qualified fifth and finished seventh in what stands as his best showing so far.