Chase Elliott’s replacement hoping to enjoy NASCAR’s Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas

Chase Elliott will miss this Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to a leg injury that was sustained while snowboarding. On Friday night, it was revealed that Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott had been involved in a snowboarding accident in Colorado earlier that day, resulting in a leg injury that required surgery.

Elliott, who was scheduled for surgery on Friday night, will miss this Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his first since becoming a full-time driver in 2016. His streak of 254 consecutive starts dates back to the 2016 Daytona 500.

Presently, there is no timetable for Chase Elliott's potential return, but that will likely change as more information about the nature of the injury and his recovery becomes available. In the meantime, JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry will replace NASCAR's most popular driver.

Josh Berry will drive the #9 Chevrolet in this Sunday's 267-lap Pennzoil 400 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile Las Vegas D-shaped oval track, his third career Cup start. Berry made his first two starts for Spire Motorsports during the 2021 season, and both were in relief.

He finished 30th at Dover Motor Speedway after replacing Justin Haley, and he finished 26th at Michigan International Speedway later that year after replacing Corey LaJoie. Both relief appearances were only made possible due to COVID-19 protocols. Berry has five Xfinity Series victories in his career, two of which have come in his last three starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Chase Elliott is out of NASCAR for the foreseeable future, following tibia surgery

According to Hendrick Motorsports' general manager Jeff Andrews, Chase Elliott is out indefinitely after a successful three-hour surgery to repair a fractured tibia. Elliott broke his left leg while snowboarding in Colorado on Friday, with Josh Berry replacing him in the #9 Chevrolet for Sunday's Cup race in Las Vegas. At the time, Andrews stated that there was no timeframe for the star NASCAR driver's return:

"Certainly, there's a little bit of a setback, and obviously, Chase is very disappointed. The most important thing is Chase's health, and we'll have a suit ready for him when he's healthy and ready to get back in a race car."

Andrews stated that the process of obtaining a NASCAR waiver for Elliott, the 2020 Cup champion, to be eligible for this year's playoffs has already begun. Other drivers have received waivers for a variety of reasons.

Josh Berry, on the other hand, will be in charge of attempting to score points for the team. His first race will be at a track where he has won two Xfinity Series races, including one last October, and finished in the top ten in all four previous appearances.