“There’s no ill intent there”: Josh Berry explains his wreck with NASCAR Xfinity teammates Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones

During the opening night of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs at Bristol Motor Speedway, there were multiple collisions involving championship-contending teammates Josh Berry and Sam Mayer.

On Lap 167, JR Motorsports teammates Berry and Mayer had a crash on Turn 1 due to a flat right-front tire, which ended both of their races. Brandon Jones, who narrowly missed making the playoffs in the previous race at Kansas Speedway, was also caught up in this incident.

In a post-collision interview with NASCAR Radio, Josh Berry said:

"I mean, there’s no ill intent there, right? I mean, we’re just racing. I was running to the bottom. He’s running the top right. Like I said, without seeing if there was some prior contact or something that cut the tire down or what, right, but yeah, I didn’t just go in there and wipe him out.”

This collision resulted in three cars being taken out of the race simultaneously. It's worth noting that the intense racing between Josh Berry and Sam Mayer caused Berry's right front tire to rub against Mayer's car, ultimately leading to the tire's failure and the subsequent collision with Jones.

Mayer and Berry conferred about the incident in the infield medical facility before addressing the media to provide insights into the situation.

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"I got to talk to Josh Berry so I’m not going to say anything stupid now" - Sam Mayer

Josh Berry and Sam Mayer's enduring connection traces back to Mayer's initial foray into late models, when Berry played a mentor's role.

This strong and long-standing relationship could expedite the resolution of any problems compared to a less familiar partnership.

After his race ended, Sam Mayer said (via Yahoo Sports):

"I got to talk to Josh so I’m not going to say anything stupid now. But a very frustrating and unfortunate way to end a solid day. We were getting better and better as we went. I think by the end of it, we were gonna be right there and able to make something happen."

"I don’t know if we had race-winning speed yet. We didn’t survive long enough to tell but just unfortunate. He said he cut a tire down so that’s just part of it. But I mean, racing that hard at the end of Stage 2 for no reason, I mean, it’s not a veteran move in my opinion. But what do I know I guess," Mayer added.

Later, on Lap 217, there was another incident involving teammates. Sheldon Creed made contact with his teammate Austin Hill from Richard Childress Racing, causing Hill to spin and crash into the inside wall on Turn 1.

Creed's car drifted upward on the exit of Turn 4, making slight contact with the left-rear corner of Hill's vehicle, causing Hill to lose control.

By the end of the night, Hill maintained his fourth-place position in the points standings, holding a 17-point lead over Creed, who currently occupies the final position just above the potential elimination cutoff.

In the provisional Round of 8, Creed currently holds the eighth position, while Sam Mayer is in tenth place, trailing by ten points, and Josh Berry is in 12th place, trailing by twenty-four points. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs will resume at the Texas Motor Speedway on September 23.