Chase Elliott’s surgically repaired broken left leg will keep him out of the No. 9 NASCAR Cup Series car for approximately six weeks, Hendrick Motorsports said Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Elliott will be replaced by Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry on the upcoming oval tracks and by sports car racer Jordan Taylor on the Circuit of the Americas road course later this month.
- After a three-hour surgery on his fractured left tibia on Friday night, Elliott was released from the hospital Saturday and will continue his rehabilitation in Colorado.
- He missed Sunday’s race in Las Vegas, marking the first missed start of his career.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Berry makes sense
Though the 32-year-old Berry finished 29th in his last-minute replacement duty at Vegas, Hendrick and Chevrolet clearly want to see him get more reps to help evaluate him as a Cup Series prospect. Berry, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity Series team (which has an alliance with Hendrick), is the easiest pick for fill-in duty and continues Hendrick’s tradition of using JR Motorsports drivers as substitutes (like Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson).
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That said, it would have been fun to see a more experienced driver from a lesser team like Corey LaJoie get a shot in the No. 9 car to see what he could do in good equipment. — Gluck
Taylor a surprise
It’s not a shock to see the 31-year-old Taylor get the nod for COTA, but it also probably wasn’t on many radars. Taylor, a career sports car driver, has never made a NASCAR national series start. He has worked with Hendrick through the Garage 56 program, which is preparing to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans this summer.
Taylor does have plenty of experience at COTA and has won there twice on the IMSA sports car circuit. — Gluck
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(Photo: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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