Josh Berry finishes 29th for Chase Elliott at Las Vegas Winners and losers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway What drivers said at Las Vegas Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series results: William Byron wins at Las Vegas William Byron wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Josh Berrydriving for the injured Chase Elliottfinishing 29th in Sunday’s Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Elliott, who finished second at Auto Club Speedway last weekend, suffered a fractured tibia in a snowboarding accident Friday in Colorado. Hendrick Motorsports did not name a timetable for Elliott’s return.

MORE: Las Vegas Cup Results

Berry, a regular in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, has only competed in the previous two Cup races. They were both in 2021 and this weekend he is driving a Next Gen Cup car for the first time. Berry ran 26 laps in practice and finished 32nd in qualifying.

Berry finished two laps behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who won the race.

“Good job, mate,” Berry said on the radio after the race, crew chief Alan Gustafson. “Sorry about the mess with the throttle and everything.

Berry said, “I feel like it really hurt me at the end. I felt like I was starting to make some progress. I don’t know what happened, what was there, just confused me.

“Honestly, it was a lot of fun. I know it wasn’t what we wanted, but I had a good time. I needed more yellow ones.”

Earlier in the race, Berry talked about problems with the throttle. Berry and Gustafson talked throughout the race about how Berry was behaving.

“Josh did an amazing job for us given the circumstances and the fact that he had never driven one of these Next Gen machines before,” said Geoff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “Very, very pleased with what he did for us today. We have work to do. We think we had a little problem. This caused little problems with his throttle during the race. We have to fix it and fix it, but we are very, very pleased with the work he did for us.”

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman knows what problems Berry faced this weekend. Bowman participated in some races in Dale Earnhardt Jr.car in 2016 when Earnhardt was out of action after suffering a concussion from the accident.

“This is a difficult situation to enter into,” Bowman said earlier this weekend. “Obviously we had some success when I replaced him, but it’s really difficult. He thinks things have only gotten more complicated with the advent of the Next Gen car.

“The Xfinity car used to be so similar to the Cup car and now they couldn’t be more different in how they handle and how you can approach how aggressively you drive them. Besides, when I came, I already had a couple of years of cup experience.

“So it’s definitely different, but I think it’s a good opportunity for Josh to get to know and see how Hendrick Motorsports works; what we do and be part of such an organization. Even though it comes in a situation nobody wants, I think it’s something you can grow out of as a racer; learn and show everyone what you have.”

Hendrick Motorsports has not revealed who will drive the No. 9 car after Sunday’s race in Las Vegas until Elliot returns. Andrews said the team will need to make a decision on Monday about taking the driver’s seat in the car before the carrier leaves on Tuesday.

Seriously though, the support I’ve received over the past couple of days is far more than I deserve. I want to thank everyone who has lent it in any form!

let’s give @joshberry And @NAPRacing team a little love today! #di9

— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) March 5, 2023

Take a look at the winners and losers of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

WINNERS

William Byron Byron destroyed the rest of the field in Vegas. His Chevrolet raced at wind speed for most of the day, leading 176 of the race’s 271 laps. Despite a strong streak, he had to pull himself together in overtime to take the win.

Kyle Larson – Larson raced in the shadow of William Byron for most of the way, and then took first place in the final stage. He likely would have won the race had it not been for a warning late in the race that caused the teams to clash in overtime.

Alex Bowman — He finished third, giving Hendrick Motorsports a 1-2-3 result. Bowman’s 85 points in the first two West Coast Swing races is second in the series. Ross Chastain91 points.

Daniel Suarez Suárez did not lead any laps but his 10th place gives him a top ten spot in all three Cup races to date and puts him in fourth place in points.

Justin Hailey “Haley had a solid race and ended up behind the top group with a 8th place finish, his best finish of the year. The finish moved him up seven points in points to 23rd.

Corey Lajoie – Lajoie has finished 20th and placed in the top 20 (16th at Dayton, 14th at Auto Club) in all three races to date.

LOSERS

Chase Briscoe And Ryan Price – Although Kevin Harvick finished ninth and found himself in a mess ahead at the end of the race, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates stumbled. Briscoe finished two laps 28th.^. Preece was one lap behind the leaders in 23rd place.

Noah Gragson — Gragson had a tough day with three speeding tickets in pit road and returned home 30th, two laps behind the leader.

Joey Logano – Logano won pole but struggled through the race after hitting the wall and then hitting the fence harder during a three-way battle with Kyle Bush And Brad Keselowski and sliding along the track. He parked his Ford and finished last.

Here’s what riders are saying after Sunday’s Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

William Byron – Winner: “I felt we had a good car in training. I was a little nervous about the wind today and how it would change what we had and whether we would be as strong but just a consensus I guess in the garage and then talking to some of the drivers they were quite we are sure what is going on. I was happy about it. Yes, a good start to the race. I thought Kyle (Larson) was really strong. He was able to stay by my side for many runs in the first and second stages and I felt like I was getting a little tense but just trying to navigate the flow of laps and navigate the wind and how that would change the handling. Just happy to get the first win of the year. It’s been a long time since we won. It’s been almost a year and it’s nice to just get back to what I think we’re capable of. There have been ups and downs, but I feel like this is what we are capable of every week. … I speak on behalf of everyone that we miss Chase (Elliott) here. He contributes a lot to the feedback and our reports and he is a great rider. There is something to offer. I think there was a void there but I think we were able to fill it by just coming together as a team and Josh joined us, he’s obviously a great rider too and I know him from the past. … It was an important day. I definitely felt it. I texted[team owner Rick Hendrick]after practice and I really enjoyed the car and I just wanted to make sure we go there and try to win for him because it’s been a tough week.”

Kyle Larson – Took 2nd place: “This is just part of cup racing. It seems that (count) circles down, circle after circle, and then, of course, yellow lights come on. Yes, you just have to get over it and then try to make a good pit stop and I thought I did a really good job getting to my sign and getting to the commitment line, I had a gap with William behind me. and their gang must have just done a very good job and stepped out in front of us and it gave way to us in the front row. I knew that I had problems with (Martin Truex Jr.) to stay aside. I felt that William was going to bypass him. Yeah, it’s just a bummer we didn’t finish…