Josh Berry regrets Ryan Blaney brake check, expected NASCAR penalty

With nothing else to gain from denying it to the media like what happened immediately after the race at Martinsville on Sunday, Josh Berry admitted to brake checking Ryan Blaney out of contention, and expressed remorse for his actions.

Berry was issued a $50,000 fine with the loss of 25 driver points by NASCAR earlier in the week.

"First and foremost, I regret the decision I made in the heat of the moment there," Berry said. "Obviously, looking back on it, Ryan had caught up to me. I was stuck behind ( Bubba Wallace ) for a little bit and Ryan got to me.

"He peaked out a little bit into (Turn 3) and he got into me in the center of (Turns) 3 and 4 and I just overreacted to it. The contact just rubbed me the wrong way and I got upset and I made a bad decision in that moment that I regret and obviously wish I'd have made a better decision there, but just really can't change nothing about it now."

He started to make amends before the night even ended on Sunday given that the Wood Brothers No. 21 that he drives for at least one more weekend is aligned with Team Penske .

"I spoke to him on Sunday night," Berry said. "We weren't even in Statesville yet, I don't think before I talked to him. I talked to him, I talked to Roger (Penske) talked to (crew chief) Jonathan Hassler or left Hassler voicemail, and then he got back to me the next day.

"So yeah, I felt like I did all I could to at least let him know where I stood on it, that I regretted the decision that I made and was upset with myself for making that decision. And that was really all I could do in that moment."

Berry said he doesn't expect Blaney to forgive him 'overnight' but he also doesn't expect anything else to come from it. He also knew he was 'screwed' the moment he realized that Hocevar had brake checked Austin Cindric four times until the car received terminal damage.

"As egregious as his was, I felt like it was two totally different situations and obviously mine was reacting to the contact I got from behind, a one-and-done kind of deal," Berry said. "As many attempts as he had made to put the two out of the race and finally succeeding, I knew that I was probably going to get something related and obviously that's what ended up happening."

Taylor Kitchen contributed to this report

Watch: In-car camera: Blaney's day unravels after contact with Berry

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