(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Aaron Bearden
What’s Happening?
Chase Elliott will miss approximately six weeks of action as his surgically-repaired left leg heals from a broken tibia.
Hendrick Motorsports confirmed the news Tuesday, four days after Elliott suffered the injury in a snowboarding accident. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion underwent a three-hour surgery to repair the break and was released from the hospital Saturday. Elliott is currently rehabilitating in Colorado. He missed the first race of his full-time Cup career Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Josh Berry, an Xfinity Series regular and short track veteran that competes for the Hendrick-affiliated JR Motorsports, filled in for Elliott in Las Vegas. He’ll continue to pilot the No. 9 Chevrolet at ovals moving forward. Corvette Racing factory driver and Garage 56 driver coach Jordan Taylor will fill in at Circuit of the Americas.
“We’re focused on getting Chase back to 100%, so we’ll take however much time is necessary and make sure he has the best resources available,” team owner Rick Hendrick said in a press release. “Josh was impressive this weekend under difficult circumstances, and we look forward to having him drive the oval tracks until Chase is able to return. Jordan is a world-class road racer and has recently been working with our Garage 56 team preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He’ll be able to step in and do a great job at COTA.”
Berry finished 29th in his first outing with the No. 9 Chevrolet. Hendrick Motorsports has requested a playoff eligibility waiver so Elliott can compete for a second Cup title upon his return.
Analysis
With Elliott out for the foreseeable future, Hendrick’s gone with a mix of status quo and a pleasant surprise to take his place.
To get the obvious bit out of the way, Elliott’s health and recovery is the most important thing right now. He should take as much time away from the car as he needs to properly recover and ensure full quality of life moving forward. The expected six-week period of absence seems to line up similarly to prior injuries of this type and could be realistic for his return, though each case is different and only time will tell if it proves accurate.
Choosing Berry as a continual replacement for Elliott is a sign of Hendrick’s faith in the 32-year-old’s potential. Hendrick traditionally goes with a JR Motorsports driver in these situations. But in prior years the team likely would have gone with the safest hand, Justin Allgaier, or a young star like Noah Gragson.
That Berry’s getting chosen over Allgaier, Sam Mayer or Brandon Jones indicates that Hendrick and Chevrolet are curious about what he can do at the Cup level. This is a good chance for Berry to get some reps, show his worth and elevate his stock as a potential Cup driver of the future.
The real surprise of Tuesday’s announcement was the addition of Taylor to the lineup. There was a clear tie-in — Taylor is attached to the Corvette brand and is working with the Hendrick-led Garage 56 project for the 24 Hours of Le Mans – but the 31-year-old has never made a start in NASCAR national series competition.
Both Jordan and brother Ricky have been mentioned as drivers that could succeed in numerous forms of competition. Ricky tested in the NTT IndyCar Series with Team Penske in 2017 and is slated to do so again with Andretti Autosport. Jordan’s expressed interest in both IndyCar and stock car opportunities in the past. But the talented brothers have largely been left to showcase their abilities in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
It might take the younger Taylor brother some time to acclimate himself to the Next Gen car, but Jordan has experience at COTA, where he’s a two-time IMSA winner. He’s a sports car star that’s likely to give the No. 9 a good drive once he gets a handle on the machine. It’ll also be a good PR opportunity for Hendrick to capitalize on Taylor’s hilarious alter ego, the Jeff Gordon jacket-wearing Rodney Sandstorm.
As for Elliott’s return, if he’s out for another six weeks, the Georgian should miss roughly seven Cup races. That’s fewer than the eight Tony Stewart missed in 2016 and the 11 rounds Kyle Busch was out for in 2015. NASCAR has also removed the need to finish top-30 in points to clinch a playoff berth with a win after a parity-filled debut season for the Next Gen car.
Assuming he gets a waiver (likely given how often they’ve been handed out in the past) and can return to the same level of pace he’s managed in recent years, there’s little reason to think last year’s regular season champ can’t win a race upon his return and get his season back on track. His climb to a title will be a bit steeper, though, given the lost opportunities for wins over the next six weeks and the playoff points he likely could have garnered with a top-10 finish in the regular season standings.
