Berry's suspension to be lifted July 7
NASCAR has revised the penalty for crew chief Bryan Berry. Berry was indefinitely suspended earlier this month for what his team owner, Rusty Wallace, termed "an alleged racial slur" against African-American driver Marc Davis at a Nationwide event held at Nashville Superspeedway on June 6.
Berry's suspension will be lifted effective July 7, while his NASCAR probation will continue until Dec. 31. Berry must also perform community service as directed by NASCAR.
Berry is crew chief for Brendan Gaughan on the Wallace team. During the June 6 race, Gaughan was entering his pit and hit Davis, who was trying to turn left through a gap in the pit wall. Both cars were heavily damaged.
Gaughan returned to the track, but on the radio he ordered his crew to not let Davis, 19, leave the track until "he sees me." Gaughan also complained vehemently to ESPN reporters after the race.
Wallace agreed that the incident was "a perfect storm" that was neither driver's fault.
NASCAR officials confirmed that Berry and some crewmen went to Davis' garage stall and that Berry approached Davis' window net yelling at him.
NASCAR's statement said Berry was suspended for violating Section 12-1 of the Nationwide rule book, which is "actions detrimental to stock car racing; involved in an altercation with another team."
The reasons for the penalty "were his [Berry's] actions and what he said," Poston told ESPN.com's Ed Hinton.
"Bryan looked me in the eye and told me he didn't say it," Wallace told Hinton. "But NASCAR said they had two people, two sponsorship representatives [for the Davis team] who heard it. I don't know who to believe."
Wallace said he did tell Berry directly, "I hope to God you didn't do what they said you did."
None of the parties involved would reveal the exact nature of the alleged epithets, but one source familiar with the situation called it "worse than Hickory" and "ugly."
When Davis was a developmental driver in 2006, a group of fans at Hickory Speedway in North Carolina reportedly chanted "[n-word] go home!" after he was involved in a bumping incident with a white driver.
Information from ESPN.com's Ed Hinton was used in this report.
