[autotag]Chase Elliott[/autotag] fractured his left tibia in a snowboarding accident in early 2023, which caused him to miss six races. It was shocking, as Hendrick Motorsports was forced to replace Elliott with Josh Berry and Jordan Taylor. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion has never gone into full detail about that day, but it changed this week.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. released a new episode of his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, featuring Elliott as a special guest. During the episode, Elliott discussed the day of the snowboarding accident, including his phone call with Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick. Shockingly, it went a lot better than he anticipated.
“I called [Rick Hendrick] and I was like, ‘Hey man, I’m sorry to tell you this, and I know you don’t want to hear this, but I am currently in the ER out here in Colorado and I think I messed my knee up really bad,’” Elliott said. “Believe it or not, I was shocked, but he took every bit of it just awesome.”
Chase Elliott wins Stage 1! #NASCAR #DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/Xz2udZdfK4
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 19, 2024
“He didn’t even care about the weekend. He just worried about what was the process, how bad was it, when was surgery gonna be if I needed surgery, if he could do anything to help, and how long were we looking. He’s like, ‘Keep me posted, let me know how bad it is. If I can do anything let me know, don’t worry about this weekend, we got it. Just get right, and when you’re ready to come back, we’ll go back racing.’ It was unbelievable. I was shocked.”
Elliott was waiting for Hendrick to be mad at him for the accident, but the opposite happened. Hendrick was understanding of his driver and wanted to do whatever he could to help. Hearing Elliott talk about the process was fascinating, but the phone call with Hendrick stood out. The conversation shows the right way to handle the situation, as Hendrick cared for Elliott at that moment.
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