NASCAR star apologized to rival before hard battle – Sports News
Josh Berry gained the Clash’s Last Chance Qualifier on Wednesday (Image: Getty)
NASCAR’s 2026 season lastly bought underway on Wednesday at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina, 4 days after the race had been scheduled to happen having been pushed back twice due to heavy snowfall.
With Chevrolet dominating the afternoon’s qualifier for the annual Cook Out Clash, and Hendrick Motorsports’ reigning two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Larson on pole, the final three spots for the 23-car discipline have been determined by way of the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier.
On pole for the LCQ was Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing, adopted by Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, and RFK Racing’s Corey LaJoie, who’s filling in for the injured workforce co-owner Brad Keselowski.
After McDowell took the lead from the second the flag fell, he was swiftly dropped to the back of the pack during an early warning, with NASCAR figuring out that he had jumped the beginning.
Despite early strain from Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger, Berry finally cruised to take the win as Cindric and LaJoie battled it out all through the previous couple of laps.
Corey LaJoie apologized to Austin Cindric prior to the LCQ (Image: Getty)
Neck and neck as they hit the white flag, there was loads of contact all through the duel, which was finally determined by a shove from Allmendinger on Cindric as he tried to dive down his inside. This pushed him forward of LaJoie and determined the tie because the substitute completed third, simply lacking out on a spot in the principle occasion.
Meanwhile, Hendricks’ Alex Bowman took the third and remaining spot in the principle race as the very best factors scorer from the 2025 season but to qualify.
After the race, whereas some could have anticipated there to be fireworks between Cindric and LaJoie following their contact, this by no means materialized, with Cindric even revealing to reporters, “He apologized to me before we started the race.
“It’s fine, honestly, I felt like he was right on the line as what I’d expect. Same from AJ, I’ve obviously raced a ton with AJ, and I know that’s what it’s gonna be. But I felt like Corey gave me as much respect as I would hope to have in that scenario, and hopefully, he feels the same.
“I’m sure that was fun to watch. Couldn’t really have written that up any better. It was fun to be able to save my stuff and try to come back through after we kind of got displaced a bit early there.”
LaJoie, in the meantime, admitted to being “p—– off, adding, “Not at Austin, I think everything out there was fair and above board for where we’re at, Bowman Gray Stadium.
“I wish, I’ll look back and watch it, I think I probably could have held him out there and been in that position that he was against me.
“But, man, it was good. I hadn’t been in a Cup at a short track, or on a short track tire in almost two years. So to jump in the deep end against these guys and these guys again and again show they are the best at driving stock cars.
“So, it’s cool to dice it up with them. Thanks to this RFK group for tapping me to drive it, filling in from Brad this week, and excited to go next week (the Daytona 500).”
LaJoie went on to add he felt the battle between himself and Cindric was “fair,” later posting on social media, “What a battle, it was fun to be in the fight. Came up one short.”
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