Friday 5: Dale Jr. ‘thrilled’ Josh Berry back in Chase Elliott’s car

Dale Earnhardt Jr. awoke early Monday and couldn’t fall back asleep. A gnawing thought consumed him.

One hour passed.

Then two. 

After three hours, Earnhardt finally yielded to sleep. When he awoke, his apprehension returned.

He was worried about close friend and JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry.

The day before, Berry filled in for Chase Elliott in the Las Vegas Cup race. Elliott was out after he fractured his left leg snowboarding two days earlier.

It was Berry’s first Cup race in two years and his first time in the Next Gen car. While the other Hendrick cars finished 1-2-3 that day, Berry placed 29th, hindered by a throttle issue. 

As Earnhardt tried to sleep early Monday morning, the JR Motorsports team owner and NASCAR on NBC Sports analyst said he “worried about whether (Berry) would get another chance at Phoenix in (Elliott’s) car. That’s the friend in me wanting the best for him, wanting him to have another shot to redeem himself.”

Earnhardt said that the mechanical issue with Berry’s car meant Berry “didn’t get a chance to prove what he could do.”

Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday that Berry would drive the oval events until Elliott returns, beginning with Sunday’s race at Phoenix. Elliott’s recovery, according to the team, is expected to take about six weeks.

“I couldn’t have been more thrilled,” Earnhardt told NBC Sports about when car owner Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon told him that Berry would run more races in Elliott’s car. 

Berry is a driver Earnhardt has bet on. They met racing online and became friends. When Berry moved to North Carolina, he lived with Earnhardt’s mother and her husband. Berry is as close to being family without sharing the same last name. 

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