Chase Elliott stunned many by confirming his return to the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville this weekend. While snowboarding in February, the Hendrick Motorsports star fractured his left tibia. After working hard on his recovery, Elliott got the clearance from NASCAR’s medical team on Tuesday and he is now back in the running. In fact, he invested two days of testing in the Chevrolet simulator before announcing his return. But despite the positive news, fans have issued a warning to the 27-year-old.

Elliott missed six races while he was out with his snowboarding injury. Luckily, he recently got a waiver from NASCAR to stay eligible for the playoffs. That being said, there is still something that does not fit well with the Hendrick Motorsports faithful.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott returning to Martinsville instigates an unexpected standby announcement

Hendrick Motorsports opted for Josh Berry as the interim replacement for Chase Elliott for the oval tracks while the 2020 Cup Series champion was out injured. The JR Motorsports driver did a decent job considering he had only raced twice before in the Cup Series prior to this season. In his five race participation this campaign, Berry finished once in the top five and twice in the top ten.

Most notably, his best performance came at Richmond Raceway, where he finished as the runner-up. Having seen this, it seems unfortunate how Elliott’s return ends Berry’s future participation in the Cup Series. However, things have gotten more uncertain after new information from the HMS camp came to light.

Obliging with his NASCAR Xfinity Series duties, Berry will compete on Saturday night for JR Motorsports. However, it doesn’t end for him there at Martinsville. Ahead of the Cup Series race on Sunday, there is confirmation that Berry will act as a standby driver in case any issues arise with Elliott.

It is worth noting that plenty of fans wanted Berry to run the #9 at Martinsville prior to Elliott’s return announcement. However, the standby announcement has, if anything, only added more fuel to the fire.

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Many fear all is still not well with the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race winner. Having said that, there were some unimaginable reactions to the announcement.

Fans react as Josh Berry becomes the standby driver for Chase Elliott at Martinsville

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There is no doubt how popular Chase Elliott is among the fans. However, the fanbase was taken aback when news of Berry being the standby driver came out.

Some fans pointed out how Elliott was trying to push his return and would eventually struggle.

As mentioned earlier, fans wanted Berry to run the Martinsville race. The supporting argument behind this is that the 32-year-old has already won at the track when he registered his first-ever Xfinity Series race win. Naturally, the fans think he is the better option to go with on Sunday.

All said and done, things will get clear once Elliott takes the driving seat at the weekend. However, all eyes will be on him to evaluate his true physical status. Is Hendrick Motorsports doing the right thing by not going with Josh Berry at Martinsville? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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