The NASCAR world heard shocking news on Friday evening that Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott would miss the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to a snowboarding accident in Colorado.
Elliott, 27, suffered a left leg injury that required surgery on Friday night. It was a shocking development as the 2023 NASCAR season has been underway. Josh Berry, a JR Motorsports driver, will drive the No. 9 car in place of the 2020 Cup Series champion.
There has been no timetable released for Elliott’s possible return at this time; however, there was some news released about his status on Friday night that could ease some fans of the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Related: Hendrick Motorsports preparing for big jump to the NASCAR Xfinity Series
Hendrick Motorsports reveals the health status of Chase Elliott on Friday night
Hendrick Motorsports did not expect to lose its star driver for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but a snowboarding accident changed the entire picture moving forward.
As of Saturday morning, there has still been no update on Elliott’s possible return. The good news is that the 2020 Cup Series champion did receive positive news as the recovery process needs to start out on the right track.
Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, told the Associated Press some positive news on Friday night that may ease the minds of Elliott’s fans until a true update is given sometime on Saturday.
Hendrick reportedly said Elliott was out of surgery and that it went well on Friday night. That is a good first step as the 27-year-old driver looks to return to the race car sooner rather than later.
The Hendrick Motorsports owner did not give any additional information on Elliott’s status with a press conference scheduled for the team on Saturday at 12:00 PM EST. It was likely scheduled to discuss Elliott’s situation.
The organization will need to request a waiver for Elliott to be eligible for the NASCAR playoffs. There should be no question if he will be granted one because there have been other situations that were undeserving of a waiver; however, they were still given out.
The next three races are Phoenix Raceway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Circuit of the Americas. Depending on the type of injury, those are three difficult races to return to this soon, especially a road course.
Stay tuned for the latest updates on Elliott’s injury as he looks to recover quickly in hopes of returning to the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports.