Hendrick Motorsports has the substitute lineup for Chase Elliott now in place. The team announced Tuesday that Elliott, who suffered a broken leg during a snowboarding accident in Colorado last Friday, will be out at least six weeks.
Josh Berry, the JR Motorsports driver who filled in for Elliott last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will continue in the substitute role on the oval tracks, but for road races, the team will use road racing ace Jordan Taylor who has been serving in an advisory role with Hendrick and its Garage 56 team which is preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The team said Elliott remains in Colorado and is currently rehabilitating.
“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,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “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 third career Cup start Sunday. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports, the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native is a five-time race winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Taylor competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing. The Orlando, Florida, native won the 2017 24 Hours of DAYTONA and the 2017 championship in the IMSA prototype class. Although the March 26 race at Circuit of The Americas will represent his first career NASCAR Cup Series start, the 31-year-old driver has competed at the road course multiple times, including two wins (2016 and 2017) in four IMSA appearances.
Before last Sunday, Elliott had not missed a start in his full-time Cup Series career. Dating back to the 2016 Daytona 500, he had made 254 consecutive starts. He won 18 times since then and, in addition to his 2020 title, advanced to the Championship 4 in 2021 and 2022.
So honored to be asked by @TeamHendrick to fill in for Chase at Circuit of the Americas in the #9 car. This is obviously under difficult circumstances with Chase being injured. It is going to be a heck of a learning curve, but I hope we can make him proud while he’s recovering. pic.twitter.com/3mg0WYN5VJ
— Jordan Taylor (@jordan10taylor) March 7, 2023
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.