The NASCAR world was hit with shocking news on Friday night when Hendrick Motorsports announced that Chase Elliott would miss Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to a leg injury.
Elliott, 27, suffered the accident on Friday when snowboarding in Colorado. JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry will now drive the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports in this weekend’s event. No timetable for Elliott’s return has been provided.
Rick Hendrick, the team owner of Hendrick Motorsports, released the following statement on Elliott’s leg injury.
“(Chase Elliott)’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. We hope to share another update later this weekend.”
Rick Hendrick on Chase Elliott’s leg injury in Colorado
As stated above, there has been no timetable provided for Elliott’s potential return. The 27-year-old driver has never missed a NASCAR Cup Series race over his first seven full-time seasons with Hendrick Motorsports.
The next three events on the NASCAR schedule take place at Phoenix Raceway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Circuit of the Americas. Depending on the type of injury and recovery time, this is a tough schedule for anyone undergoing leg surgery.
Atlanta represents a superspeedway track while Circuit of the Americas is a road course. The next race after those three would be Richmond Raceway. For now, we will wait for an update on Elliott before any speculation. NASCAR has not received a waiver request from Hendrick Motorsports yet.
Stay tuned for the latest updates on Elliott’s leg injury and recovery as NASCAR goes to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sportsnaut wishes Elliott a safe and speedy recovery.