Elliott hurts leg in snowboarding accident, will miss Vegas race
NASCAR superstar Chase Elliott had successful surgery for an unspecified injury to his left leg Friday night, hours after a snowboarding accident in Colorado. He will miss this weekend’s NASCAR race at Las Vegas.
Team owner Rick Hendrick told The Associated Press that Elliott was “just out of surgery” and “it went well.” Hendrick gave no additional details about Elliott’s condition or the accident.
Hendrick is NASCAR’S winningest car owner and Elliott is NASCAR’S most popular driver.
Josh Berry will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet on Sunday in place of Elliott.
Elliott would need a waiver from NASCAR to be eligible for this year’s playoffs because he’s missing a race. NASCAR has granted waivers to drivers for a variety of medical and non-medical reasons.
“Chase’s health is our primary concern,” Hendrick said ahead of Elliott’s surgery. “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.”
Elliott is a second- generation driver and the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott. The Georgia native is NASCAR’S five-time fan-voted most popular driver.
Elliott was runner-up to Kyle Busch last week at Fontana, California. He was part of a crash in the season- opening Daytona 500.
Las Vegas is the third race of the season.
Berry is a two-time winner in the Xfinity series at Las Vegas and is the defending Xfinity winner. Berry also will race Saturday for Hendrick affiliate JR Motorsports.
The injury comes at a time when Hendrick dramatically shifted his stance on extracurricular activities.
He was a firm believer in that his drivers could not race in other series or partake in daredevil behavior for fear of injury.
But he did a complete Uturn after signing Kyle Larson for 2021. Larson runs at small tracks all over the country and persuaded Hendrick not to force him to quit.
In fact, Hendrick is even partnering with Mclaren and Chevrolet to enter Larson in the Indianapolis 500 in 2024 and 2025.
Hendrick’s new position opened the door for all four of the HMS drivers to start racing other events, and Elliott has taken the offer.
Elliott’s snowboarding accident, however, happened during a physical activity, and it isn’t publicly known what he can and can’t do under his Hendrick contract.
Elliott is a licensed pilot and because he’s never left his Dawsonville, Georgia, hometown he often helicopters himself to meetings at Hendrick’s North Carolina race shop.
Once he relaxed his view on extra racing, Hendrick explained that a driver knows very well if they get injured, they will be replaced. This will be his first test.