Chase Elliott Apologizes to Josh Berry in Honest Post-Race Confession

You see chaos in the playoffs, and odds are, Wood Brothers Racing is part of it. Just at Darlington last week, Josh Berry’s costly first-lap crash sent him to the garage for over 100 laps before eventually finishing 38th. But if Berry hoped Gateway would be the turning point, fate had other ideas. What unfolded this afternoon wasn’t as quick as Darlington’s first-lap disaster, but the sting was just as sharp, as a high-stakes moment involving a Hendrick Motorsports driver ended his day far earlier than anyone in the Wood Brothers camp would have liked. But hey, at least there’s some accountability.

The 34-year-old did make it further than last week’s disaster, but his situation hasn’t improved much; in fact, Bristol is now shaping up to be a must-win scenario for the No. 21 Ford. But before we go ahead, let’s dive into Berry’s afternoon at Gateway and how his downfall began. Well, it happened on Lap 35. Josh Berry, who was running 15th, was bumped in Turn 1 by none other than Chase Elliott. The No. 9 washed up against the No. 21, triggering a massive wreck that left Berry’s left front wheel barely hanging on. The bump forced Berry into the outside SAFER barrier. The impact crumpled the left side of his car, and he limped back into the garage with terminal damage. Evaluated and released from the infield care center, Berry’s race and perhaps his hope ended right there.

However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver owned up and immediately apologized in a post-race interview: “Yeah, first off, you know, apologies to Josh and the 21 team. I had no intention of crashing him, obviously, so that sucks. I’ve known Eddie and Len forever, and I’ve known Josh for a long time, too, so I hope they know that wasn’t intentional, at least, you know, so I feel terrible about that. Felt bad about it, you know, right after it happened, so yeah, that, you know, was unfortunate.” 

Chase Elliott’s race followed a different trajectory than Josh Berry’s. At the Enjoy Illinois 300, Chase Elliott secured a commanding third-place finish, trailing only Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, thereby earning a podium spot and boosting his playoff standings. That result increased his lead over the cut line to 28 points heading into the next elimination race at Bristol, despite a controversial contact incident mid-race involving Josh Berry.

This sting is amplified by déjà vu. Sitting last in the playoff standings with a 19-point deficit after Darlington, frustration boiled over on the No. 21 team’s radio at Gateway. Kelly Crandall of RACER picked up radio communications for the 21 team, and it sounded something like: “To me, it looked like you were checked up from the 38 (Zane Smith), and the 9 (Chase Elliott) drove it in there on the inside. It looks like he got our left rear quarter.” And Berry’s own reply carried the weight of inevitability, saying, “He washed up off the bottom, right? I saw it coming. I left a little bit of space.”

For the second straight week, Josh Berry’s race ended far too early, and with it, his NASCAR playoff hopes are fading away. As things stand, Berry sits 45 points below the cut line and nearly 10 points adrift of the next driver in the standings. The pressure is climbing with every single lap, with the stakes having never felt heavier. And amid Chase Elliott bumping out Josh Berry, the Hendrick Motorsports driver finds himself in a much better position than his race last week at Darlington.

Chase Elliott sounds off on his “good pace” as he snatches a podium finish

Starting deep in the pack in P19, Chase Elliott had his work cut out for him at the World Wide Technology Raceway. By the end of Stage 1, he had already carved his way to the top, running in 10th place after methodically working through traffic. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet showed strong balance early, allowing him to make clean passes and position himself for the middle stages of the race despite multiple cautions shaking up the order.

In Stage 2, Elliott kept his forward momentum alive with P8, setting the tone for a strong closing run. Strategic pit calls kept him in contention, and he stayed in the mix through a series of restarts and green flag pit cycles. On lap 67, Elliott moved past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron for second place, briefly positioning himself as a contender for the lead before pitting from the front of the field on lap 201 during a round of green flag stops.

In a post-race interview, Elliott very subjectively reviewed his race: “I thought we had really good pace in our NAPA Chevy today. I was able to be on good offense, put ourselves in some good spots throughout the course of the race. Had good restarts and got ourselves up there in the mix. We probably weren’t the very best, but I thought we were really close.” 

The final stage saw Elliott’s most decisive move when he cleared Brad Keselowski for third on lap 218. He held the spot to the finish, crossing the line in P3, just behind two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. It was a textbook example of patience and precision, gaining 16 positions over the race. Elliott’s podium marked another solid result in his push during the postseason, proving that even from a mid-pack start, he has the pace and race craft to challenge the frontrunners.