'No timeline': Chase Elliott out 'several weeks', Hendrick Motorsports picks Josh Berry to drive
Chase Elliott is out and Josh Berry is in.
For how long? That remains to be seen.
What we know after Saturday morning is that Elliott underwent successful surgery to repair a broken left tibia on Friday night after a snowboarding accident in Colorado. News began to surface late Friday evening and on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports held a press conference to address the issue. Company president and general manager Jeff Andrews Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson and Josh Berry, a full-time Xfinity driver who will fill in for Elliott during his absence, fielded questions for around 15 minutes.
"There is no timeline at this point in time. At this point, we would expect this to be several weeks but beyond that, I don't have a timeline to offer for you," Andrews said. "We’ll work with Chase and his doctors in the future to help determine that. But again, I just can’t reiterate enough that for Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, the most important thing is Chase’s health and his wellbeing.
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“We’re going to race a long time together with Chase Elliott and we’re going to win a lot more races together. Certainly, this is a little bit of a setback and obviously, Chase is very disappointed, but (to) reiterate again, the most important thing is Chase’s health, and we’ll have a seat ready for him when he’s healthy and ready to get back in a racecar.”
Andrews was also asked about possible future restrictions on the team’s drivers in terms of off-track activities.
“It won’t force us to reevaluate any policies, these guys have to go out and live a life outside of the racetrack,” Andrews said. “Certainly, what Chase was doing, was not anything abnormal for him. He’s an experienced snowboarder, he’s been doing it most of his life and it was an accident. A similar injury could happen falling off a mountain bike or stepping off a curb while you’re jogging.
“I don’t anticipate a policy change at Hendrick Motorsports based around this.”
Prior to Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, Elliott had made 254 consecutive starts dating back to his first race as a rookie in 2016. The 2020 Cup Series champion can apply for a medical waiver upon his return and, if approved by NASCAR, would still be eligible for the 2023 championship.
Berry, meanwhile, was set to click his first laps in a Next-Gen car shortly after the press conference during the Cup Series’ lone practice session Saturday afternoon. The 32-year-old is in his second full-time season driving for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. He has five wins in 35 career races and has made just two Cup Series starts, finishing 30th at Dover and 26th at Michigan while driving for Spire Motorsports in 2021.
“First and foremost, obviously thinking about Chase. This is his ride and his opportunity and I’m just thankful that Mr. Hendrick, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports thought of me to come fill in for him in this moment,” Berry said. “We’re just taking it one lap at a time, one day at a time. We don’t really have any expectations at this point.
“It’s definitely a great honor to drive for Hendrick Motorsports regardless of the situation, so I’m going to do the best I can for these guys.”
Gustafson said his immediate concern was putting Berry in the best situation possible.
“Right now, my focus is making the transition as easy as possible for Josh and to help him get acclimated with the car, get comfortable and get him into a position to use his talent and ability to be successful," Gustafson said. “It’s still the same goal to be as good as we possible can be when Chase gets back and win as many races as possible.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: Chase Elliott out indefinitely, Josh Berry to drive in relief
