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Chase Elliott Wrecks Reeling Josh Berry In Second Cup Series Playoff Race

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Josh Berry

Josh Berry’s chances of advancing to the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs went from bad to worse on Sunday.

And for that, the Wood Brothers Racing driver can reasonably point the finger at Chase Elliott (although he actually didn’t).

So what happened between Berry and Elliott, and just how damaging was it to Berry’s hopes of getting past the Round of 16?

The Hits Just Keep Coming For Josh Berry In NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs

In last weekend’s playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, Josh Berry had no one to blame but himself for his poor outcome. That’s because Berry simply lost control of his No. 21 Ford in the middle of turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap, first running into Tyler Reddick and then the wall (see below).

The damage to Berry’s car was too much for him to continue without an extended visit behind the pit wall that left him more than 100 laps down. When all the dust had settled, Berry finished last in the 38-car field. Even worse, he left Darlington ranked last among the 16 playoff drivers.

So, coming into Sunday’s event at World Wide Technology Raceway, aka Gateway, outside of St. Louis, Berry needed — at minimum — a good finish to avoid facing a virtual must-win scenario in next weekend’s playoff elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

But instead of making up some of the ground he lost at Darlington, Berry now finds himself in an even deeper points hole heading to the Tennessee short track nicknamed Thunder Valley. Specifically, Berry is now 45 points behind bubble driver Austin Cindric, with three others in between them.

Although it’s mathematically possible for Berry to reach the Round of 12 without winning at Bristol, it’s highly unrealistic.

“It’s just been a tough couple of weeks for our team,” Berry said on Sunday after making another early exit. “I feel like we have had decent cars. We’ve just had issues.”

How It All Went South For The No. 21 Team At World Wide Technology Raceway

Unlike at Darlington Raceway, where Josh Berry suffered a self-inflicted result, the Wood Brothers Racing driver did nothing to trigger his woes on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Running along in 15th position just 35 laps into the 240-lap race, Berry saw his day go up in smoke in an instant when a bump from Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Turn 1 sent him spinning into the outside wall.

With significant damage to his car, Berry immediately headed for the garage, where he talked about the accident but stopped short of finding fault with Elliott.

“The 9 (Elliott) got in there, got a little loose and just slid up, and he got into us,” Berry said. “Obviously, I don’t think that was intentional or anything. It was just a racing deal. And, unfortunately, we were just on the receiving end.”

As a result of Berry finishing dead last for the second race in a row, it’s basically win or bust for him at Bristol — which will host the NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday night for its annual late-summer affair. Elliott, meanwhile, went on to finish third at Gateway, all but punching a ticket to the next round.

“It felt good to just have a solid day for this No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet team,” Elliott said after the race. “I thought we were really good at times. Certainly more competitive than we’ve been in a minute.

“It was a lot of fun to be up in the mix. We just needed a little bit more there at the end. But we were way, way better than we’ve been here lately. So, that’s nice.”

Elliott also apologized for wrecking Berry, saying the contact was unintentional. Check out his comments below, per Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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