IMSA Star Jordan Taylor to get NASCAR Cup Start with Hendrick Motorsports

Veteran IMSA standout Jordan Taylor and Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry will be filling some big shoes in the NASCAR Cup Series over the next six weeks or so.

Taylor and Berry have been chosen to fill the the void at Hendrick Motorsports while 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott recovers from a broken leg suffered in a snowboarding accident in Colorado on March 3.

Berry, full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver for the Hendrick-affiliated JR Motorsports, will be behind the wheel for Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Berry subbed in for Elliott last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finished 29th.

Berry will continue to drive all the oval tracks in the Cup Series while Elliott is sidelined.

Taylor, meanwhile, will drive the No. 9 car at Circuit of the Americas when the series heads to that road course in Austin, Texas, on March 26th. Taylor currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing and has also been helping as a driver coach with the Hendrick Motorsports/NASCAR Garage 56 program for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The start at COTA will be Taylor's first in Cup competition. He's a three-time series champion in the IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship and was a class winner at Le Mans in 2015.

Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, released a statement saying: “We’re focused on getting Chase back to 100%, so we’ll take however much time is necessary and make sure he has the best resources available.

"Josh was impressive this weekend under difficult circumstances, and we look forward to having him drive the oval tracks until Chase is able to return. Jordan is a world-class road racer and has recently been working with our Garage 56 team preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He’ll be able to step in and do a great job at COTA.”

Elliott underwent successful surgery on his left leg Friday night and the team indicated they expect his recovery will take approximately another six weeks before he is medically cleared to return to the car.