NASCAR Fans Defend Chase Elliott’s Replacement Amid Unreasonable Expectation for Drivers Making Their First Next Gen Cup Appearance

Last weekend, Chase Elliott was rendered out of action due to a snowboarding accident. As a result, the Hendrick Motorsports team roped in Josh Berry to replace him at the last minute. Unfortunately, Berry pretty much had a trial by fire and ultimately ended the race in 29th position. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the only sad thing for him.

As it happened, all of his teammates ran riot, with William Byron winning, and Kyle Larson & Alex Bowman locking out the Top 3.

Due to this, poor old Berry attracted a lot of negative attention from the Hendrick Motorsports faithful. They were hoping that he would be right on pace with his three teammates. However, it should be noted that he was pulling double duty, juggling his Xfinity duties as well.

Luckily for the driver, HMS cut him some slack as they reported throttle issues and they were satisfied with his performance.

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When can we expect Chase Elliott to return to racing once again?

Honestly, it is difficult to say when the 2020 Cup Series champion can be back in the saddle. It all depends on the severity of the injury and how long it will take his leg to heal. Apparently, he underwent surgery to try and speed up the process so he could soon return to the racetrack. The only question is, will Hendrick Motorsports continue with Josh Berry until Elliott returns?

Here is what the fans have to say about Berry’s outing in Las Vegas:

After Austin Konenski’s tweet, the temp #9 chevy driver, found support from the community in the face of criticisms for his recent performance. People acknowledged that he had little to no experience with the Next Gen car, so his performance was decent.

They also observed that he was pretty quick on the track, apart from green flag pit cycles. He also did a fairly stellar job, considering that the car was mostly set up to suit Elliott’s driving style.

Others noted the performance of other newcomers who tried the Next Gen car for the first time. They believe that impressive performances from Zane Smith, Ty Gibbs, Riley Herbst, and more, set unreasonable expectations. Others simply said that the so-called slander came from how far he was compared to his teammates who finished 1-2-3.

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