Ryan Blaney: ‘It’s Not Rainbows and Sunshine’ With Josh Berry
· Yahoo Sports
Ryan Blaney says things have changed with Josh Berry after Martinsville, while Austin Cindric spoke for the first time about Carson Hocevar’s penalties.
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The Team Penske teammates were both brake-checked at Martinsville and talked about it at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Blaney’s day ended when Berry hit the brakes in front of him. Cindric’s ended after repeated brake checks from Hocevar. NASCAR penalized both Berry and Hocevar on Tuesday.
Blaney spoke with NASCAR’s Zach Sturniolo on Friday. He said he and Berry had talked and called it a “good conversation,” but said the incident surprised him.
“Being an affiliate and teammate, he and I had a good relationship,” Blaney said. “I was pretty surprised at that.”
Berry drives the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford. The Wood Brothers, one of the oldest active teams in American motorsports, have a technical alliance with Team Penske.
‘It’s Not on Fire’
Blaney said their relationship is different now.
“Yeah, I think it changes a little bit. It’s not on fire, but it’s not rainbows and sunshine,” he said, in comments transcribed by On3.
Right after the race, Blaney said Berry “decided to slam on the brakes and end our day.” Berry admitted Friday that he meant to send a message and said it crossed the line.
Cindric Breaks His Silence on Hocevar
Cindric left Martinsville without speaking to reporters. He had made his feelings clear on the radio, though.
“NASCAR, what are we doing? Like, we’re just weaponizing cars here,” Cindric said during the race. “I stack on entry with the guy, and he has a mental breakdown.”
Spire Motorsports suspended Hocevar for Sunday’s finale, and NASCAR fined him $100,000 and docked him 25 points. On Saturday at Homestead, Cindric was asked about both penalties, in comments also shared by Steven Taranto.
“Yeah, I mean obviously that’s between him and the team really,” Cindric said. “Obviously I don’t have much of an impact on any of those decisions, so yeah, my focus is on this weekend.”
He gave a similar answer about NASCAR’s penalty, even though he had called on the sanctioning body to act.
“Sure, that’s definitely a position I’ve never been in, but as far as NASCAR’s decision, that’s kind of up to them on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
Austin Cindric answered questions about his reaction to Carson Hocevar's suspension after their incident last week. I recalled a previous incident and conversation between the two at North Wilkesboro in 2024 and asked if that contributed to how Cindric felt.
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) November 7, 2026
"I think that's a… pic.twitter.com/eLF9omtTws
Cindric did admit the incident hurt. “Sure, I mean obviously a super frustrating event for us to drop three spots and points at a critical point in the year,” he said.
Hocevar apologized in an 18-minute video, but On3 reported he had not yet reached out to Cindric personally. Hocevar has said the reason does not matter because his actions were uncalled for. Asked how they had raced each other before the incident, Cindric said, “Somewhat nonexistent. We weren’t even on the same lap.”
Hocevar spoke at length about the suspension at Homestead on Friday. He is out for Sunday’s Cup finale, and Justin Haley drives the No. 77 in his place.