Three-time IMSA champion Jordan Taylor has long been a favourite among both sports car and stock car racing fanbases despite never having competed in the latter, being close with the industry and popular for his “Rodney Sandstorm” persona—a NASCAR superfan in Jeff Gordon gear.
On 26 March, Taylor will get to race for Gordon’s team as he makes his NASCAR Cup Series début at Circuit of the Americas in the #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. The ride comes in substitution for Chase Elliott, who is out for at least six weeks with a fractured tibia in a snowboarding accident.
Taylor is closely affiliated with General Motors, having won the 2017 IMSA DPi championship for the family-run Wayne Taylor Racing and Cadillac before claiming the 2020 and 2021 GTLM titles as a factory driver for Corvette Racing. He also has three Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona victories, with his first in 2017 coming alongside Gordon. When COTA was on the IMSA calendar between 2014 and 2017, he won the final two editions.
Owing to his successes at Daytona, Taylor had hoped to enter the inaugural NASCAR/ARCA weekend on the infield road course layout in 2020 but was reportedly not approved by the sanctioning body. While he did not find a ride over the next two years, he is currently involved with NASCAR’s Garage 56 programme as a driver coach for Hendrick alumnus Jimmie Johnson, Mike Rockenfeller, and Jenson Button as they prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Taylor won the GTE Pro class at Le Mans in 2015 with Corvette.
“This is obviously under difficult circumstances with Chase being injured,” tweeted Taylor. “It is going to be a heck of a learning curve, but I hope we can make him proud while he’s recovering.”
While Taylor fills in for COTA, Josh Berry will return to the #9 for the oval races at Phoenix, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol, and Martinsville. Berry, who races for Hendrick affiliate JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, finished twenty-ninth in his first start in the car at Las Vegas after battling throttle issues.
Of the five races on his calendar, Berry won at Martinsville in 2021 in the Xfinity Series. He has also competed there in late models, winning the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 in 2019.
“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,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “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.”