HOMESTEAD, Fla. – After seeing video of Carson Hocevar’s attempt to slam on the brakes in front of Austin Cindric on four occasions following last weekend’s Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Josh Berry knew he was in trouble.
On Lap 252, Ryan Blaney got into the rear of Berry through Turns 3 and 4. On corner exit, Berry, a short-track stud, brake-checked the No. 12 Ford, busting Blaney’s radiator, putting him behind the wall for 57 laps. That 35th-place finish officially eliminated Blaney from championship contention at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR fined Berry, driver of the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, $50,000 on Tuesday for his actions, docking him 25 driver points.
“The contact rubbed me the wrong way, I got upset and made a bad decision in that moment that I regret,” Berry said on Saturday at Homestead. “Obviously, wish I would have made a better decision there. Can’t change anything about it now.”
Blaney was stunned by the sudden stoppage of the No. 21 Ford, particularly given Wood Brothers Racing is a Team Penske affiliate. He thought his bump in the corner was typical short-track racing – and then the retaliation occurred.
“It was very surprising. Especially the circumstances that it was an incidental contact that he and I had there in the middle of the corner,” Blaney stated. “It was pretty light. That surprised me, but he made that decision and that is what it is. But yeah, being an affiliate teammate and he and I had a good relationship, I was pretty surprised at that.”
While making the two-hour trip home on Sunday evening, Berry had a list of calls to make. He chatted with Blaney and team owner Roger Penske to inform them that he was remorseful of his decision. He left a voicemail for Jonathan Hassler, crew chief of the No. 12 ride, before Hassler returned his call on Monday.
Blaney admitted that his relationship with Berry will be altered moving forward.
“Yeah, I think it changes a little bit,” Blaney stated. “It’s not on fire, but it’s not rainbows and sunshine.”
Berry isn’t expecting to bury the hatchet in the interim, but doesn’t believe the duo will have lingering effects in the future from their Martinsville collision.
“I don’t really expect him to forgive me overnight,” Berry noted. “It will take time to get better. I felt like I’ve had a good relationship with all those guys over the last two years. If it takes time to heal these things, that’s fine. But I don’t see it going any further than it did on Sunday.”