NASCAR 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott will miss an indefinite number of races after undergoing surgery Friday night to repair the fractured tibia of his left leg. The injury occurred while Elliott was snowboarding in Colorado.
Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, emphasized that Elliott’s recovery was their top priority.
“Chase’s health is our primary concern. He’s spoken with several members of our team and is understandably disappointed to miss time in the car. Of course, he has our full support, and we’ll provide any resources he needs.”
When asked about a probable return date for Elliott, Jeff Andrews, president and general manager, said, “At this point in time, we would expect this obviously to be several weeks. But beyond that, I don’t have a timeline to offer for you. We will obviously work with Chase and his doctors in the future to help determine that.”
“But again, I just can’t reiterate enough that for Mr. Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, the most important thing is Chase’s health and his well-being. We will work with him on that timeline.
“We’re going to race a long time together with Chase Elliott, and we’re going to win a lot more races together. It’s certainly a little bit of a setback, and obviously, Chase is very disappointed, but again, I want to reiterate that the most important thing is Chase’s health. We’ll have his seat ready for him when he’s healthy and ready to get back into a race car.”
Andrews also confirmed that the team does not prohibit their drivers from taking part in activities that could result in injuries.
“These guys have to go out and live a life outside of the race track, and certainly what Chase was doing was not anything abnormal for him,” Andrews stated. “He’s an experienced snowboarder. He’s been doing it most of his life, and it was an accident. A similar injury could happen falling off a mountain bike or stepping off a curb while you’re jogging. It was an accident, and Chase feels awful about it, but our stance is just that – it was an accident, and our guys have to go out and live their lives.”
JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver, Josh Berry, is scheduled to substitute for Elliott this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Berry characterized it as both a challenge and an opportunity.
“It’s going to be a great challenge,” he said, “but that comes with a lot of opportunity in there, as well. We’ve talked – I don’t think we have a lot of expectations for how this is going to go. Obviously my focus is winning a Xfinity Series Championship this year, but to get this opportunity to get some experience in a Cup car is great for me. Obviously I want to be in the Cup Series one day, so you never know what could happen.
“We’re just trying to be realistic. As for this, I’ll be available for these guys whenever they need me and hopefully I can do a good job for them.”
Hendrick Motorsports has also applied for a playoff waiver. This would allow Elliott to remain championship eligible even though he will not compete in all of the regular season races. If granted, he would have to win a race or earn enough points to contend for the championship.
