NASCAR: 5 possible replacements for Chase Elliott
By Asher Fair
Chase Elliott is still out for the foreseeable future with a broken left tibia. Who will replace him at Hendrick Motorsports during his missed NASCAR Cup Series races?
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott missed his first NASCAR Cup Series race since becoming a full-time driver in 2016 this past Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, two days after suffering a broken left tibia. His absence ended a 254-race streak of consecutive Cup Series starts.
Elliott had a successful three-hour surgery on the injury, which he suffered in a Colorado snowboarding accident, later on Friday night and was released from the hospital later in the weekend.
He is said to be out for “several weeks”, with no clear timetable on a potential return. Given past recovery periods for this injury, he will probably be out for at least five races, including this coming Sunday afternoon’s race at Phoenix Raceway.
Who will replace him? Here are five possibilities.
Possible Chase Elliott replacements: No. 1 – Josh Berry
Josh Berry, who drives the No. 8 Chevrolet full-time for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, was the driver called upon to replace Elliott this past weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he finished in 29th place behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevrolet.
Berry has now made three career Cup Series starts, all in relief of drivers missing unexpected time due to medical-related reasons.
He made two starts for Spire Motorsports in 2021, one as the replacement for Justin Haley at Dover Motor Speedway and another one as the replacement for Corey LaJoie at Michigan International Speedway, so this past weekend marked the first time he had ever driven the Next Gen car.
He also finished in the top 30 in both of his Spire Motorsports starts, so he knows how to bring the car home in one piece. But what if Rick Hendrick’s team decides to move in different direction?