Chase Elliott's replacement has 'really pleased' Hendrick Motorsports boss Jeff Andrews

Josh Berry finished 29th in the Cup race at Las Vegas International Speedway on Sunday, filling in for an injured Chase Elliott. Chase Elliott, who finished second at Auto Club Speedway last weekend, broke his tibia in a skiing accident in Colorado on Friday (March 3). Chase Elliott's comeback date has not been set by Hendrick Motorsports.

Berry, who replaced Chase Elliott for this weekend, has only competed in two prior Cup races. Both of those were in 2021, so this is his first time driving a Next Gen Cup vehicle. Berry completed 26 laps in practice before qualifying in 32nd place. Berry finished two laps behind the race winner, Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.

Berry was already behind the eight-ball after qualifying 32nd for the Pennzoil 400 after the first 80-lap stage proceeded without incident. He was put a lap down on lap 62 due to his lack of track position and his efforts to adjust to his new surroundings in racing circumstances. He never recovered, having missed the free pass position at the finish of the stage by one spot.

The first two stages were both risk-free. On lap 183, Joey Logano slammed the wall off Turn 4 and spun through the grass on the frontstretch, bringing out the first natural caution.

Berry did qualify into the top 25, and he also smacked the wall, but being two laps behind with extended green flag runs when more and more cars were lapped, there was only so much distance he could make up. Only 18 drivers remained on the lead lap at the end of the day.

He may have been able to mix it up a little more if it hadn't been for a mechanical gremlin as the day came to an end. The Xfinity Series regular spent a significant amount of time on pit road after debriefing the race with the No. 9 crew on the race, and he also found the car didn’t perform to its full capacity.

Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, applauded Berry's efforts. Andrews stated that the organization was really pleased with his work and that he performed "an incredible job" considering the circumstances. The summons to drive did not arrive until late Friday. Andrews stated:

"We’ve got some things to work on. We think we had a little bit of an issue there that was causing him a little bit of — some issues with his throttle there during the race that we’ve got to get fixed and remedied, but really, really pleased with the job he did for us today."

The driver for the car next weekend is yet to be decided. Andrews anticipated a decision by late Monday (March 6), before the haulers depart for Phoenix Raceway on Tuesday (March 7).

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Chase Elliott: Latest update on his recovery

Chase Elliott, one of the most popular NASCAR Cup Series drivers, will miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident. Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, spoke with reporters over the weekend and said that Elliott was recovering after a three-hour operation to repair his left broken tibia. Andrews told the media:

“At this point in time, we would expect this obviously to be several weeks, but beyond that, I don’t have a timeline to offer for you. We will obviously work with Chase and his doctors in the future to help determine that."

"But again, I just can’t reiterate enough that for Mr. Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, the most important thing is Chase’s health and his well-being. We will work with him on that timeline.”