After missing six races due to a broken tibia, Chase Elliott announced on Wednesday that he will be back for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville.
One of NASCAR’s most popular drivers suffered the injury during a March 3 snowboarding incident in Colorado. Despite the injury and the consequences that came with it, Elliott, who is a relatively experienced snowboarder, made a huge vow regarding the recreational snow sport.
“I feel like you have to enjoy your life and go do things that are a nice … escape from this every week,” Elliott said via ESPN. “There’s a lot that goes into racing and I think you have to have that way to escape and give your mind a rest.
“The accident could have happened tripping down stairs, or on a jog. Snowboarding is something that I’ve been doing for a long time. I am comfortable doing it. It’s one of those things that I’ve used as a training tool over the years — no different than riding bikes.”
Elliott said that he wasn’t doing anything that was particularly “wild or crazy,” nor does he have a cool story to tell about the accident. He’ll continue to snowboard in his off-time, even if the incident caused him to miss six races.
“It was just that perfect storm that could happen at any point in time,” he said.
Eliott, who will be back behind the wheel of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend in Ridgeway, Virginia, indicated that he wouldn’t be back racing if he didn’t feel like he was ready to do so.
He last won in Martinsville in Nov. 2020.
[ESPN]
