Berry To Substitute For Injured Elliott In Vegas Cup Race

Josh Berry, seen here from an earlier race weekend, will drive in a substitute roll for Chase Elliott in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Elliott suffered a leg injury while snowboarding on Friday. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

After breaking his left tibia during a snowboarding accident in Colorado on Friday, Chase Elliott underwent successful surgery lasting approximately three hours, according to Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager Jeff Andrews.

Josh Berry, who drives the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will substitute for Elliott in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Elliott is expected to miss multiple races while he recovers, and there is currently no timeline for his return, Andrews said. The No. 9 Chevrolet will continue to compete for the owner’s championship, and the organization can apply to NASCAR for a medical waiver that would keep Elliott eligible for the driver’s title.

Berry, 32, has just two Cup starts to his credit, both in 2021, and he has never driven NASCAR’s Next Gen car, introduced into the series last year.

“Without a doubt, it’s going to be a great challenge for me,” Berry said, “but with great challenge comes great opportunity for me to learn and grow as a driver and work around a lot of really talented and smart people here at Hendrick Motorsports.

“So we’re just taking it one lap at a time and one day at a time… We really don’t have any expectations at this point. We’re going to try to get to this practice and qualifying (for the Cup event). I’m going to race my Xfinity car, and then we’ll meet some more and talk about it and make a plan for (Sunday).”

Alex Bowman Can Empathize With Relief Driver Josh Berry

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman knows both sides of the substitute driver equation.

In 2016, he was pressed into service for 10 races in the No. 88 Hendrick Chevrolet while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was recovering from a concussion.

Last year, Bowman missed five races because of concussion symptoms and was replaced in his No. 48 Chevy by Noah Gragson.

With his experience as a relief driver, Bowman understands the challenge facing NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry, who will sub for injured Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Chevrolet on Sunday.

“I think it’s a hard situation to step into,” Bowman said. “Obviously, we had some success when I filled in, but it’s really hard. I think it’s only gotten harder with the Next Gen car coming in. The Xfinity car used to be so similar to a Cup car, and now they couldn’t be more different in how they drive and how you can approach how to aggressively drive them…

“Definitely different, but I think it is a good opportunity for Josh to learn and to see how Hendrick Motorsports operates and to see the things that we do and to be a part of an organization like that, even though it’s through a situation that nobody wants.”

NASCAR Cup Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV
Pennzoil 400 – March 5, 2023

Sunday’s Starting Line Up

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 22 Joey Logano Pennzoil Ford 29.024 186.053
2. 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 29.165 185.153
3. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Pennzoil Ford 29.205 184.900
4. 54 Ty Gibbs # He Get us Toyota 29.262 184.540
5. 8 Kyle Busch Alsco Chevrolet 29.270 184.489
6. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 29.308 184.250
7. 6 Brad Keselowski Fastenal Ford 29.333 184.093
8. 1 Ross Chastain GlobalTranz Chevrolet 29.387 183.755
9. 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 29.401 183.667
10. 20 Christopher Bell SiriusXM Toyota 29.424 183.524
11. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 29.346 184.011
12. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 29.367 183.880
13. 23 Bubba Wallace Columbia Sportwear Company Toyota 29.392 183.723
14. 4 Kevin Harvick Rheem Ford 29.411 183.605
15. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 29.467 183.256
16. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Smith’s/Coca-Coal Zero Sugar Chevrolet 29.562 182.667
17. 34 Michael McDowell Quincy Compressor Ford 29.582 182.543
18. 17 Chris Buescher Nexletol Ford 29.593 182.476
19. 7 Corey LaJoie EnviroXstream Chevrolet 29.605 182.402
20. 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 29.610 182.371
21. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 29.611 182.365
22. 43 Erik Jones Allegiant Chevrolet 29.629 182.254
23. 16 A.J. Allmendinger Action Industries Chevrolet 29.635 182.217
24. 99 Daniel Suarez Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 29.650 182.125
25. 42 Noah Gragson # Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet 29.789 181.275
26. 3 Austin Dillon BREZTRI Chevrolet 29.810 181.147
27. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 29.823 181.068
28. 38 Todd Gilliland Ruedebusch Ford 29.892 180.650
29. 15 J.J. Yeley OTR Mobile Ford 29.986 180.084
30. 51 Cody Ware Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford 29.994 180.036
31. 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 30.034 179.796
32. 9 Josh Berry(i) NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 30.153 179.087
33. 77 Ty Dillon NationsGuard Chevrolet 30.686 175.976
34. 45 Tyler Reddick Monster Energy Toyota 0.000 0.000
35. 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 0.000 0.000
36. 78 B.J. McLeod Circle B Diecast Chevrolet 0.000 0.000