Chase Elliott’s Long Road Ahead
Credit: (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Chase Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, is back on track. But he faces a long, difficult road ahead if he’s to win a second Cup Series championship this season.
Chase Elliott returned to NASCAR’s Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. The 2020 series champ was forced to miss six races after suffering a left leg injury while snowboarding in Colorado in early March.
Before his return at Martinsville, where he finished tenth after struggling with an ill handling car for much of the day, Elliott detailed the extent of his injuries and rehabilitation.
“Yeah obviously had surgery on my tibia in a couple of different places. I have a few screws in the top of my tibia there. It’s really more I guess knee-located than it is lower leg.
“Rehab has been I guess pretty standard for that type of injury. It’s not an uncommon injury by any means. It certainly could have been a lot worse. Fortunately, there wasn’t an ACL tear, meniscus or any of that, so that was all very positive and like I said, could have been a lot worse. Unless I injury it or hurt it again, no there shouldn’t be any lingering surgeries to have to remove any of that stuff or any of that.”
Elliott has been snowboarding for much of his life. In the moments just after the accident near his family’s home in Vail, he knew it was serious and that he needed to let team owner Rick Hendrick and crew chief Alan Gustafson know what happened. It wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to having.
“I don’t get super up or super down, for the most part. But kind of called it like I saw it. I knew when I got hurt that it was not good and I knew that pretty quickly. So I knew that those conversations were inevitably going to happen in the next couple of hours. I didn’t want to have those conversations for sure, but it was just something that had to be done. I was just super honest and straight-up with everyone. I told Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) exactly what was going on. I told Rick (Hendrick) exactly what was going on. I said – hey, this is what happened and this is what I’m dealing with.
“I talked to both of them while I was in the ER and I said – hey, I don’t have all of the answers yet, but I don’t think this is good and I think you need to be looking at getting somebody to fill-in this weekend because I really don’t think I’m going to be able to get to Vegas by in the morning and I don’t know that I’m going to be able to drive, but I’ll let you know as soon as I get X-rays back and get information, I’ll share and I did. It was very transparent. I tried to not be dramatic about it, I just told them like it was. I knew my knee was messed up. I can’t say I ever had the thought of not walking again.. I didn’t think it was that severe. I think it could have been a lot worse, but I certainly knew it wasn’t right and it was probably going to take a surgery. And to what extent it was, obviously I didn’t know at that point in time and was just hoping for the best. Whatever it was going to be, it was going to be. It was done at that point, right? I was more just thinking about tackling what it was and doing what the doctors told me to do to get back to 100% as soon as I could.”
“Whatever it was going to be,
it was going to be.”
Instead of having his surgery performed by the Hendrick Motorsports team doctor at Ortho Carolina, Elliott decided to remain in Colorado for the procedure and rehab for a month before returning to his home in Georgia.
“Obviously I work with the Ortho Carolina guys through HMS and they’ve been open to helping as much or as little as I need. Fortunately, I was in a place where the Steadman Clinic out there in Colorado is a very well-known orthopedic surgery center. I had been aware of some other athletes in different disciplines having surgeries there, even traveling there to get the surgery done. So a combination of that and a combination of some local folks in the area that I personally know and just building that confidence in knowing that was the right place. And I think some of it too is just kind of a feeling – like to me, it was the right place.
“Obviously you don’t want to ever have that happen, but to have it happen and have access to a facility like that, I’m very grateful for that. So it just felt like the right place for me and at the time, I thought that was going to be not only as good of a location to get the surgery done, but I thought the rehab center and how closely they work with the clinic, I thought that was going to be my quickest road back and the best road back for my long-term health, too. All of those decisions were made by me, with my health in mind, and what I felt like was going to be the best thing for me now and down the road. Part of it was professional; part of it was just that personal feeling of what you think is right.”
Having been non weight-bearing for a number of weeks, Elliott knows he’s not back in race-shape, at least not yet. But he’s been working on it.
“Yeah, I mean I think a lot of it so far in my process has been focused on upper body. My arms are fine and my core is fine, things like that. But from a PT standpoint, it’s been just trying to get that range of motion back in your knee. That’s a very common thing with that injury; getting your quad to fire, getting your patella to move and get that stuff back going. I’ve never had a surgery, so it’s been pretty eye-opening at just how some of that stuff works and how your body reacts to being cut on. It was not super fun.
“Just going at their guidance, honestly. I’ve had a great group. Man, I’ve gotten to know some of these guys and can certainly call a couple of them friends now. It’s obviously not been fun, but looking back on it, those relationships that you gain over the years will be something that you respect and appreciate down the road.”
During his time out of the car, Elliott reached out to fellow Cup Series driver Kyle Busch. Back in 2015, Busch was injured in the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. After missing eleven races to start the year, Busch returned to the series, made the playoffs and won his first Cup Series title. Even though their injuries were different, Elliott thought Busch’s insights and opinions would be valuable.
“Yeah, I talked to Kyle Busch a good bit through that. We’ve texted back-and-forth some and just kind of quizzed him. His injury was much different than mine and way worse too, I think. I think it was a good bit worse. They were just different, but I do think his was worse in the break and things. But yeah, just kind of quizzing him. We worked with different doctors right, so just kind of quizzing him on what his guys were telling him and comparing that with what I’m being told. Just gathering information for myself, personally, just to understand kind of what he went through – that rehab process, how he felt when he was getting back in the car, what things he was looking for, what was comfortable and what wasn’t, if anything. Just kind of talk through as much of it that I can to just gather information. Like I said, very different injury, but always good to get a second opinion on a somewhat similar situation.”
While it didn’t drive him crazy to sit out and watch replacement drivers Josh Berry and Jordan Taylor race his car, Elliott admitted it did feel odd in the beginning.
“You know, I’m not going to lie, to watch your car go around the track and have your name on it. And watch your guys and everybody there, and you’re the only piece missing of what was normal. So there was certainly an aspect that was definitely strange. That became more normal – I guess you kind of got over that a little bit as time went on. But yeah, I think it’s just something that seeing that for the first time was a bit weird, but I definitely got used to that over the course of the last six weeks.
“I think Josh (Berry) has done a really good job. I thought Jordan (Taylor) did a great job. Those are really tough things to jump in there and have to fill in like that, and do it on short notice. Like all of the above, that’s difficult and probably more difficult than people give them credit for. I’m not sure what Josh’s future plans are or what he has in the works behind the scenes, but I would assume that he wants to go Cup racing one day if the right opportunity presents itself. He’s done a great job with the opportunities that he’s had at JRM and I thought he did a great job with the opportunity he had to drive with our group. I asked him how one of the races went and he said – man, those guys are so good. I said I’ve been trying to tell everybody that for eight years how good they are, and I don’t do anything special and I just have a really good team. I said I’ve been trying to tell everybody that for a long time and nobody listens. So I’m glad to see somebody else gets to witness that first-hand. It’s been a pleasure working with him, and I hope if he has something in the works or if he as aspirations down the road to go Cup racing, I hope those solid runs that he’s had helps propel him and gets him the opportunity he deserves.”
As he’s gotten back in the car, Elliott says his Hendrick Motorsports crew really hasn’t had to change anything with his seating position to make it safer or more comfortable for him.
“Really the way that you sit in the car and kind of the way I like to sit – I guess as it revolves around my leg and my knee – all of that stuff is really stable and kind of tightly packed in there between the seat, the leg board, the knee knocker. All of those things really already have your left leg pretty tight anyways, so if I was going to change anything, I would really want that. And that was something the doctors and I talked about too kind of coming back in. I think that’s a really positive thing that was already the case, so I feel like things were already like I would want them if they weren’t.
“So yeah, nothing really special from the interior standpoint that we worked on this week. I felt good about just where I had it previously.”
Competition-wise, does Elliott expect to come back and not miss a beat or give himself a bit of grace period as he gets back up to speed?
“Yeah, I don’t really have the answer to that, honestly. But I think it’s going to be tough. Anytime you miss a period and your competitors are sharpening their skills and you’re not – I do think you’ve missed out, for sure. The good news is our team is really talented and we have a great group. I think if we have our ducks in a row and we’re prepared, I think we can go and jump in and have a really solid run. That’s obviously my goal. We’ll just have to get up there and see what the challenges are and what they bring. Whatever it is, we’re going to work through it and continue to fight; make the most of the weeks to come. We’re going to have 17 races or so to get a win, so we’ve got plenty of time. Just have to get after it, execute at a high level and I think we’re very capable of doing that.”
Now comes the hard part for Elliott. Making NASCAR’s Cup Series Playoffs on points isn’t really an option at this time. If Elliott’s going to make the playoffs, he’s going to need to win a race, or two. Will that change how he approaches each race in what is left of the regular season?
“Yeah, I haven’t even looked at the points. I have no idea how far back we are, but I just assumed that wasn’t even possible.
“Yeah, I think for us, we’re in a position where we’re going to have to win. That’s at least how I’m looking at it and how I’ve been thinking about ever since this happened. I figured you miss a few weeks and you’re pretty much going to have to win. So yeah, that’s how I’m looking at it. I don’t think I really change my approach. Does that change how we call races from a strategic-standpoint? Yeah, it probably does. But does it change how I drive or how I want the car setup for the weekend? No, we’re always out there trying to win events. But I certainly think it can change your play, as far as a particular race day. You see guys shorten stages to try and get the win, or whatever going for points. Obviously we don’t need to go for points, so anytime you have those decisions to make, the decision is going to be very easy. You play the long game and try to win the event.”
Even after going through the injury, the surgery and rehab, don’t expect Elliott to reevaluate how he approaches extracurricular activities during the racing season. For Elliott, being active and enjoying life away from the track is just part of who he is.
“Yeah, I mean I think it is for me. I feel like you have to enjoy your life and go and do things that are – I don’t want to say a distraction, but like a nice escape from this every week. There is a lot that goes into the racing thing and I think you have to have that way to escape and let your mind rest a little bit.
“Look, the accident could have happened tripping down stairs, on a jog or anything. Snowboarding is something that I’ve been doing for a long time. I’m comfortable doing it. I wasn’t out doing anything that was wild or crazy. I don’t have a cool story to tell.. it was just that perfect storm that could happen at any point in time, honestly. It’s one of those things that I’ve used as a training tool over the years, as well. No different from riding bikes or any of the above. I don’t agree with that viewpoint of – well you shouldn’t have been doing this or you shouldn’t have been doing that. I feel like I make decisions with my career in mind first and I always have. This was no different. It was just the perfect storm and an unfortunate accident.”
For Elliott, and his many fans, the perfect ending to the perfect storm would have him back in the championship mix at the end of the season.