Chase Elliott has been out for five weeks after fracturing his left tibia in a snowboarding accident before the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Elliott, 27, has not been out of the picture at Hendrick Motorsports as he is still involved during the week.
With the healing process still in progress, Elliott’s possible return date to the Cup Series has received a notable update.
Latest update on Chase Elliott’s return to the NASCAR Cup Series
Elliott never missed a race over his first seven full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series but now he finds himself on the sideline watching his No. 9 car run around the race track without him.
In fact, the No. 9 car driven by Josh Berry secured a second-place finish behind teammate Kyle Larson during the Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway last weekend. Berry received lots of praise for his efforts in the Final Stage and proved he will be full-time in the series soon.
Berry is scheduled to run the remainder of the schedule for the No. 9 car in Elliott’s absence. This comes after Jordan Taylor drove the entry to a 24th-place finish at Circuit of the Americas. However, when will Elliott return to the race track?
According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Elliott is still on pace for the original recovery time of six weeks and nothing has been heard to suggest it would be any longer. Pockrass also reiterated the fact in another tweet by saying the six-week timeline is still applicable.
There is no return date in place yet; however, which race would make the most sense for a return and what does the timeline currently look like for Elliott as he continues to heal? Continue reading to find out the details on Elliott’s timeline.
Related: NASCAR insider takes a bold stance on Chase Elliott’s injury
Chase Elliott’s injury timeline as the NASCAR season moves forward
Elliott fractured his tibia on the Friday before the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Since his rehab started the next Monday, it has been four weeks since the timeline for a return began.
This means the 2020 Cup Series champion should still miss the next two weeks if he is not ahead in the recovery process. The next two races are at Bristol Dirt and Martinsville Speedway. A return at Martinsville would be tough due to the physical demand on his left leg anyway.
The next and most likely return date for Elliott remains Talladega Superspeedway on April 23 if the latest report from Pockrass is correct. It would not be too much demand on his left leg and represent a good chance for Elliott to knock off the rust at a track he won last season.
Unless his recovery time goes beyond the six-week estimate, it seems pretty likely that Elliott returns as early as Martinsville and as late as Talladega. The turnaround to run Martinsville would only make sense if he exceeds expectations and can properly prepare during the week.
If Hendrick Motorsports decides not to take the risk at Talladega, a return at Dover Motor Speedway would be on April 30 in four weeks. Granted, wrecks can happen anywhere but it is a known fact that Talladega causes major accidents.
With little concrete information known on Elliott’s current status, it still remains a mystery when he will return. The good news for Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, and his fans is that it should be sooner rather than later at this point.