Before this past weekend’s NASCAR race in Las Vegas, it was revealed that Chase Elliott had to get surgery for a broken tibia due to a snowboarding accident.
Over the weekend, many weighed in. Some took issue with Elliott taking a risk like snowboarding that resulted in him missing some races. Others saw it as an unfortunate accident in an activity that Elliott was free to do.
Denny Hamlin weighed in on the subject on his podcast, Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin. Hamlin sympathized with Elliott enjoying some physical activites as someone who needed ACL surgery on both knees due to playing basketball.
“This sparks the debate over drivers, and what they should be allowed to do, and what they should not be allowed to do. And I sent a tweet out basically saying that most of the, I would think that most people do things physically because it helps them mentally. And I know that’s the case for myself. I play golf and basketball and pickleball and other sports because mentally, I cannot be consumed with racing but for so much. I have to unwind from that. And that is my way to still be competitive, but yet get racing off the plate for a little while.”
Hamlin is right on the money. You don’t have to be a top NASCAR driver to see that doing something else other than your job can improve your mental health. I don’t want to be writing 24/7, I would be a worse writer and a more hostile person around my family and friends if that was the case. Why should we expect NASCAR drivers, or any pro athlete for that matter, to spend every waking moment studying to get better at their craft? If you’ve ever studied for a test or written a term paper, you should know that sometimes breaking away from that helps you finish the work.
Hamlin also took issue with people on social media who pointed out that someone could get injured walking down the sidewalk. As if that’s equal to snowboarding.
“For the people on social media just saying, ‘Oh well, you could get hurt walking down the sidewalk.’ That is the stupidest, can we just stop with that? There’s more risk in extreme sports so stop saying, ‘Well you can also get her walking down the sidewalk.’ Sure you can but it’s a .0000000000 chance.”
Again, Hamlin is correct. Sure, you can get hit walking down the sidewalk. Stranger things can happen. But I know that if I’m walking down the sidewalk, I’m not expecting to break my leg. However, if I’m snowboarding, I have to think something like that could happen if the worst case scenario happens.
Keep in mind, Elliott is going to be back long before the regular season is concluded. Sure, he will miss out on potential playoff points, but he wouldn’t be the first driver to miss a bunch of races due to a broken leg and win the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Kyle Busch did that in 2015. If Elliott gets a waiver, which Hamlin thinks he’ll receive, all Elliott needs to do is win one race before the playoffs start. If he does that, he immediately becomes one of the favorites to win the championship.
Needless to say, this injury shouldn’t hurt Chase Elliott’s NASCAR career.
[Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin]
