On Saturday, Hendrick Motorsports provided updates on the condition of Chase Elliott, the driver of the team’s No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro. According to team president and general manager Jeff Andrews, Elliott underwent a successful three-hour surgery to repair a fractured tibia following an injury sustained during a snowboarding trip in Colorado on Friday.
This update from Andrews confirmed a report from the AP’s Jenna Fryer on Friday evening.
Andrews states that Elliott is, “Doing well,” and is expected to be released from the hospital that performed the surgery on Saturday.
While Elliott and the team are still gathering information on the injury that the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion sustained on Friday, a full timeline of when to expect Elliott back behind the wheel is unavailable. However, Andrews says that the expectation is that Elliott will miss several weeks.
“That’s really the extent that we know. There is no timeline 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,” Andrews said. “We’ll obviously work with Chase and his doctors in the future to determine that.”
Andrews said that Elliott is disappointed about his injury, but reiterates that the team is committed to Elliott’s health and will have a seat ready for him when he returns from injury.
For those curious, Hendrick Motorsports, which has loosened the reigns on its drivers and their extracurricular activities in recent seasons, will not look to limit what its drivers can do in their free time in the wake of Elliott’s injury.
“It won’t force us to re-evaluate any policies,” Andrews explained. “I think these guys have to go live a life outside of the race track. And certainly what Chase was doing was not anything abnormal for him. He’s an experienced snowboarder, he’s been doing it most of his life. It was an accident.”
Andrews says that the team has gone through the formal process of applying for a medical waiver for Elliott with NASCAR. Hendrick Motorsports is now awaiting NASCAR’s decision on whether or not a waiver will be granted. Andrews says the team will respect NASCAR’s decision on the matter.
In place of Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be Josh Berry.
Berry, who has won an impressive five races in a very brief time with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, definitely brings talent, but the choice of Berry for Hendrick Motorsports was more geared toward making sure the No. 9 car is functional this weekend.
“Really, the decision was made a lot about Josh’s driving style and then of course the fit in the car,” Andrews said. “Trying to find someone close to Chase’s size, given the timing and what we had to work with here. Getting him fitted in the car last night. Those were really the two main decisions around why we wanted to go with Josh.”
This is still a developing story, but it is encouraging to hear that the sport’s Most Popular Driver did undergo a successful surgery and now the healing process begins for the 27-year-old racer.
