Chase Elliott’s substitute secures top 10 finish in Phoenix

While Chase Elliott is undergoing rehabilitation, substitute driver Josh Berry is making waves while driving the #9 Chevrolet Camaro. Berry, in his second substitute cameo, took the checkered flag to secure a top-10 finish.

The Xfinity regular driver, in his fourth cup series outing, started the race in 17th position. Berry held his position in the top 20 throughout the race, gaining positions in the final laps. In the final restart, Berry jumped five places to finish the race in 10th position.

Josh Berry was pleased with his performance as he finished in the top 10 along with the regular drivers from Hendrick Motorsports.

Berry spoke to NASCAR in a post-race interview:

"I feel we obviously improved a lot from last week, I knew we would. Just having a week to work on and talk about things. I think this is a pretty good racetrack for me too. We were able to build on what we did before, stayed between 15 to 20."

He added:

"Realistically that's where we thought we were after practice. We were able to execute on pit road, execute those restarts get in the top ten, I'm really pleased with that."

Berry had a pretty solid race pace, staying in the top 20 for the majority of the race. The #9 car finished 18th in stage 1 and 15th in stage 2. In Las Vegas, Berry struggled on restarts, losing positions. The 32-year-old proved to be a quick learner as he made the most of the final restart, gaining positions.

Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, was impressed with Chase Elliott's substitute as he praised Berry in a post-race press conference:

"I'm really impressed with today's effort. It didn't start off so great and to see them continue to work through changes on the car, changes on the track conditions, and continue to push forward and he was mixing it up, man! On those restarts he was right in the middle 3-4 wide, we needed a solid finish. It was great to see Josh get that."

On a weekend when NASCAR introduced new aero packages, Berry seemed to have adjusted to the changes.

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron continues his dominant run, winning his second race of the season. Kyle Larson, who started on the pole, lost out on the final restart, finishing fourth. #48 driver Alex Bowman finished ahead of Berry in the ninth position.

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Chase Elliott's season outlook

According to the timeline released by Hendrick Motorsports, Chase Elliott won't be able to race in the next five weeks.

While the 2020 Cup Series champion is recovering, his team seems unbeatable, scoring consecutive victories.

After a podium sweep in Las Vegas, William Byron and Kyle Larson were untouchable in the Phoenix race. The team seems to be on top of the changes made to the cars. Elliott is missing out on crucial points and likely race wins as the team continues its strong form.

Chase Elliott has not yet qualified for the Playoffs and occupies the 29th position in the driver's standings. The #9 driver will have to put in a monumental effort to make it into the playoffs.