Chase Elliott, a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, will be out for several weeks and possibly longer following a three-hour surgery on Friday night for his fractured tibia. Elliott, 27, suffered the injury in a snowboarding accident on Friday in Colorado.
Josh Berry, a JR Motorsports driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, was tasked with the opportunity of replacing Elliott in the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Berry ended up with a 29th-place finish after some issues.
With Elliott’s absence expected to be lengthy, it creates the question of who might pilot the No. 9 car until he returns. Well, a major surprise could come as early as Monday on who could be in the car at Phoenix Raceway.
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Hendrick Motorsports deciding the driver on Monday, could be a “huge surprise”
Hendrick Motorsports has itself in a tough situation as they look to replace Elliott for the foreseeable future. Plus, a decision for Phoenix Raceway needs to be made really soon so the team can get a seat in the car before the hauler leaves sometime on Tuesday.
According to Hendrick Motorsports President Jeff Andrews, the organization expects to make a decision on who will drive the No. 9 car at Phoenix on Monday. Then, Catchfence’s Chris Knight reported he has heard a couple of names with one being likely and the other being a huge surprise.
It is very fascinating to see who the surprise might be if Hendrick Motorsports goes that route. The likely names are probably Berry or Justin Allgaier because each of them has driven for the organization in the NASCAR Cup Series at least once.
Meanwhile, the huge surprise could go in multiple different directions. It is not even worth guessing who the surprise might be due to how all over the place it is right now. However, it would be cool to see a former Hendrick Motorsports driver come back to the team for another race.
Stay tuned for the latest updates as Hendrick Motorsports needs to make a quick decision on who will be piloting the No. 9 car at Phoenix Raceway this weekend after Elliott’s three-hour surgery on Friday night.