Berry was laps down when he retaliated and crashed race leader Bobby McCarty with just 5 laps to go; Berry is ready to accept penalties
The CARS Tour took the green at Ace Speedway on Saturday night. The track is a 4/10-mile asphalt oval in Altamahaw, North Carolina.
North Carolina is in Phase 2 of a reopening plan. That limits gatherings to 25 people.
Ace Speedway decided they now longer cared. The Sheriff basically said he wouldn’t enforce it, they packed the place on Saturday night.
The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office was sent a letter from the Governor encouraging the Sheriff to enforce the order.
The letter from the state read, “Sheriff Johnson is formally requested to do his duty under the law and enforce the Phase 2 Order. If Sheriff Johnson declines to perform that duty, the Governor will take further action to protect the health and safety of the people of Alamance County and North Carolina.”
The race went on as planned.
Ace Speedway will be handed a citation for “the violation of the public health restrictions and prohibitions set forth in Executive Order 141.”
Saturday’s show was illegal in the state of North Carolina. But, they made it worthwhile for the race fans…
Josh Berry vs Bobby McCarty
Josh Berry won the race at the track last year. While Bobby McCarty won at the track the year before. They both found their way to the front again on Saturday night.
On Lap 80, they were side by side for the race win. They made contact into turn three and Berry made contact with the outside wall collecting extensive damage.
With repairs made, the JR Motorsports No. 88 was back on the race track. McCarty was driving away with the win.
With just 5 laps to go, McCarty looked inside of Berry to put him a lap down in turn three. Berry took an easy entry and tucked in behind him, power down, off the corner.
Berry pushed McCarty all the way off the corner. Eventually, the race leader McCarty was around. He came to a stop against the inside wall into turn one.
The lap car of Josh Berry crashed the race leader in retaliation. CARS Tour officials parked Berry have the retaliation.
“Get ready to fight boys,” Josh Berry said over the radio as he returned to his pit stall.
“I’ve got my pepper spray ready,” Berry’s crew responded.
Josh Berry on the incident with Bobby McCarty
“We didn’t qualify great, but we worked our way up to second,” Berry told Short Track Scene.
“The first restart, he played games and jammed on the brakes and I thought, ‘here we go again.’ And he went into (Turn 3) and turned. That’s what I saw. I’ve got a lot of people congratulating me. Sometimes, enough is enough man. I’m tired of getting run into.”
“It looked like he was having a lot of trouble lapping me, I don’t know,” Berry said. “He could have just gone high, but it took a little time to do that. I’ve heard them make every excuse in the book. Overall, I hate to race like that and be like that. I represent good people who are well respected in this sport, but sometimes enough is enough.”
Berry mentioned over the radio that his crew should be ready to fight McCarty’s crew.
“I don’t know,” Berry said. “Look, they have to see it coming with how he races. They’re a good team and there’s a lot of good people on that team that I have a lot of respect for. It just comes down that I am really tired of getting ran into.”
Berry has been credited with last, 28th.
Bobby McCarty on Josh Berry
McCarty was warned over the radio that it might happen.
“I had a feeling something was going to happen, but I didn’t think it was going to be that,” McCarty said.
“But, you know, you get frustrated, you do stuff like that. It’s just part of it. I felt like getting into (Turn 3), my spotter was telling me, ‘rear bumper almost clear, you’ll have him clear by center,’ and he just sailed it off in there and caught me in the right rear.”
“It’s frustrating. I felt like we had a good car up until that point. Stuff happens. I don’t hide behind race cars. He can do whatever he wants.”
McCarty is credited with 18th.
Reaction
After the race, Berry tweeted, “Well, sometimes enough is enough. Hate it had to come to that but I will accept any penalties that come my way. When 3/4 of the field comes up to you or calls you to tell you did the right thing then it speaks for itself. Thank you to JR Motorsports & relyonATA for the support!”
Josh Berry vs Bobby McCarty
Ace Speedway
Video
Links
Ace Speedway | CARS Tour | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Bobby McCarty
