Josh Berry reached out to Carson Hocevar after an incident at Sonoma Raceway last weekend. Hocevar did not respond.
It's not that he was still mad at the Wood Brothers Racing driver; he just isn't a fan of those post-incident apologies that have become almost mandatory for NASCAR drivers.
"I don't really like the whole have to call and do that," Hocevar said at Dover. "Have to apologize on Monday, say whatever, right. Because I mean if even if you do it intentionally or not, you're never going to say that for the person.
"So it just becomes a pony show a little bit, so if I don't like it -- especially it's a little weird for me. I've never been on this side of it."
Hocevar noted that he doesn't plan on talking to Berry about the incident that knocked him out of the top 10 and relegated him to a 32nd-place finish. He just viewed it as a racing incident.
"Stuff happens. We're all on the limit of everything," he said. "Of all people, right, I'm on the limit of everything."
The contact between the two drivers unfolded over two laps. Berry first hit Hocevar from behind entering Turn 11 as they both raced inside the top 10. He then hit the No. 77 from behind in Turn 2 and sent it spinning.
A top-10 effort from @CarsonHocevar turned into a 32nd-place result after late contact with the No. 21 of @joshberry. pic.twitter.com/3CTV45cvPe
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 14, 2025
Berry went on to finish 13th in the race. He left the California track with 24 points. He gained one spot in the Cup standings. Hocevar left the track with only five points and fell three spots.
"The 77 was a complete mistake on my part," Berry said Saturday at Dover. "I laid off at the bottom of (Turn) 1. I was trying to time it to where I could get up beside Carson and follow the 45 through and was just too fast to the top of the hill, got too far left and ran into Carson and knocked him off the track.
"It's unfortunate. Obviously, I hate it for those guys. I tried calling Carson Monday and sent him a text, but never heard anything back. I did talk to Luke (Lambert, crew chief) Monday morning to apologize to those guys and it's just part of racing. We were on old tires and, for me, probably just trying a little too hard in that situation."
Hocevar does not appear to hold any grudges against Berry after the contact at Sonoma disrupted a top-10 run. However, Berry noted that he opened the door for retaliation. If it happens, he will just move on and continue the season.