NASCAR star 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 the NASCAR race this weekend in Las Vegas.
Team owner Rick Hendrick told The Associated Press that Elliott “just got out of surgery” and “it went really well.” Hendrik did not provide additional details about Elliott’s condition or the incident.
Hendrick is a NASCAR winning car owner and Elliott is NASCAR’s most popular driver.
Josh Perry will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet on Sunday in place of Elliott.
Elliott will need a NASCAR waiver to be eligible for the playoffs this year because he is 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 before Elliott’s surgery. “He has spoken with several members of our team and is understandably disappointed to waste time in the car. Of course, he has our full support and will provide whatever resources he needs.”
Elliott is a second generation driver and the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott. The Georgia native is five times the most popular driver in NASCAR.
Elliott finished second to Kyle Busch last week in Fontana, California. He was part of a crash in the season-opening Daytona 500.
Las Vegas is the third race of the season. Perry is a two-time winner of the Xfinity Series in Las Vegas and is the defending Xfinity winner. Perry will also race on Saturday for Hendrick’s subsidiary, JR Motorsports.
Elliott is part of NASCAR’s shrinking group of true superstars and was signed to a developmental deal by Hendrick when he was just 14 years old.
He has turned into a bona fide elite racer and won a Cup title in 2020. The 27-year-old has 18 career Cup victories and has advanced to a Championship final in the last three consecutive years.
The injury comes at a time when Hendrick has dramatically changed his stance on extracurricular activities. He was a firm believer that its drivers could not race in other series or engage in daring behavior for fear of injury.
But he’s made a full turn after hiring Kyle Larson for 2021. Larson runs at pickup tracks all over the country and convinced Hendrick not to force him to quit.
In fact, Hendrick has partnered with McLaren and Chevrolet to enter Larson in the Indianapolis 500. The deal was announced for 2024, but AP has learned that it’s a two-year deal that includes the 2025 race.
The previous two seasons Hendrick had also entered cars in endurance races for the IMSA Sports Car Series and in June he will go to the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of a special project with NASCAR. He thought Elliott was an early contender for a seat in the historic entry, but NASCAR has a conflicted race weekend, and Elliott has always said he wouldn’t miss a Cup race.
Hendrick’s new position opened the door for all four HMS drivers to start racing other events, and Elliott accepted the offer.
However, Elliott’s accident occurred on the ice during a physical activity, and it is not known to the public what he can and cannot do under his Hendrick contract.
Elliott is a licensed pilot, and because he never leaves his hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia, he often helicopters himself to meetings at Hendrick’s North Carolina race shop.
Once he rests his view on additional races, Hendrick makes it clear that the driver knows full well if they get injured, they will be replaced. This will be his first test.
Hendrick driver Alex Bowman missed five races last year due to a concussion in a NASCAR race. He got a contract extension last month.
The 32-year-old Perry normally drives for JRM in the second-tier Xfinity Series. He is a five-time winner with JRM and has two previous Cup wins.
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