Josh Berry Absolves Chase Elliott of Malicious Intent After HMS Driver’s Contact Ends Gateway Race

Toyota once again flexed its muscle at World Wide Technology Raceway, placing six cars inside the top 10. But the spotlight shifted when Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet and Josh Berry’s No. 21 Ford tangled early, sending the Wood Brothers Racing driver to the garage after a Lap 36 crash in the Enjoy Illinois 300.

For the second week running, Berry’s day unraveled before it ever hit full stride. Running 15th in the thick of a three-wide battle with Joey Logano to his outside, Berry was clipped entering Turn 1 as Elliott dove low.

The contact sent Berry into the SAFER barrier, crunching the left side of his Ford, with his front-left tire completely coming off and forcing him to limp back to the garage. His crew couldn’t make repairs, handing him a last-place P36 finish and dealing a serious blow to his playoff hopes.

Berry, however, refused to paint Elliott as the villain, saying, “It looked like Chase just made a late move and got a little loose and was just enough to slide up into us. I don’t think it was anything intentional by no means. Just an unfortunate scenario, I guess.”

The incident carried added weight given their history. Back in 2023, when Elliott sat out with a snowboarding injury, Berry subbed in for five races in the No. 9 Chevrolet. So, they do have a history of working together.

Elliott, visibly remorseful, opened his post-race remarks with an apology. He said to the media, “First off, just want to apologize to Josh and the 21 team. I had no intention of getting into him.

“I’ve known those guys my whole life, so I just hope that they at least know it wasn’t anything intentional, and I’ve known Josh for a long time, too.

“So, just want to make sure those guys know that I feel terrible about that. Felt terrible about it right when it happened, and wish I could take it back. But yeah, unfortunately, that transpired.”

Now, with Bristol looming as the final Round of 16 stop, Berry finds himself buried in 16th place, 45 points shy of safety. At this stage, the math is simple: win or watch the playoff door slam shut.