Amidst the burning flames of its reputation, NASCAR is trying to douse the fire a bit. Two Cup Series teams fight out a case against the sanctioning body in court. In the meantime, it is trying to amend a contentious rule that played out in two races in recent weeks. Ryan Blaney was benched after a lap 1 wreck in Watkins Glen, and subsequently, Josh Berry’s turn came at Kansas.

Severe backlash erupted against the arbitrary rule, and NASCAR could not help but respond. Besides elucidating its verdict about both Blaney and Berry, the sanctioning body offered hope for change. However, that is not possible for at least four months.

Another stroke of bad luck may set in soon

On lap 1 of the Hollywood Kasino 400 race, playoff drivers were confident to score points. However, their potential spoilers wreaked havoc right at the beginning. Ty Dillon contacted Harrison Burton, whose car hit Josh Berry in the right rear. Kicking the No. 4 Ford slightly off the ground, Berry slid down the backstretch with four flat tires. Since he was part of an incident and Stewart-Haas Racing lacked a system to pump air at the crash site, NASCAR barred Berry from rejoining the race.

What followed was a round of slander from the No. 4 crew chief, Rodney Childers. Many fans also showed displeasure, given that this marked the second time since Blaney also wrecked out at Watkins Glen. NASCAR Cup Series director Brad Moran explained that “it didn’t feel right or look right, but (the rule) was done correctly.” Then he dropped a sliver of hope about the ordeal, although it would not come to fruition till next year. “Again, it’s something we’ll review over the winter and it may change.”

Nevertheless, the overarching opinion on NASCAR’s part was negative about Josh Berry’s Kansas chances. Moran explained: “The hit was hard enough on (Berry’s) car to lift the car off the ground, slam it down on the ground. Once you’re involved in a (Damaged Vehicle Policy) accident — and by the way the (incident data recorder) did go off, so it was a significant incident that (Berry) was in — if he couldn’t drive the car back, he was out due to DVP.” Even Dale Earnhardt Jr sided with NASCAR regarding the DVP rule.

And Josh Berry adopted a milder response to the incident compared to his crew chief. That may be due to a greater ordeal he faced in August.

Berry was grateful to NASCAR

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At the end of August, Josh Berry was still battling for a Cup Series victory. But Daytona threw another more serious challenge in his way – saving his own life. With two laps to go, the No. 4 Ford got loose when it contacted Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Ford. Then Berry swerved to the left and got tossed on his roof – the car flipped aggressively and slammed the wall. The ensuing red flag prompted medical personnel to rush to Berry’s safety – and luckily, he was unscathed. He thanked NASCAR for saving his life: “I’m here racing next week. I think it says a lot about the Next Gen (car) and the job NASCAR’s done.”

That awful experience must have still been raw in Berry’s mind, so he chose not to react a lot to the Kansas debacle. Compared to Rodney Childers’ ‘scr-wed up’ claims, Berry calmly said: “They were telling me to get out. Then they towed me into the campground, so I was just out there chilling with the fans. At that point, they said they had to get a rollback, and they finally made me get out.” Berry also suggested he might have ignored some NASCAR rule. “I have seen plenty of cars get towed to the pits and get tires put on, so I don’t know if I am missing something or if there was something different than normal, but that was an experience, for sure.”

Despite Josh Berry’s mild approach, NASCAR is apparently working on the rule. But meanwhile, let us see if anybody else gets caught up in another such scenario.