Chase Elliott Receives Clearance for NASCAR Return

Chase Elliott has been out of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro since suffering a fractured tibia in a snowboarding accident during the West Coast swing. He is now set to return to action.

According to a press release from Hendrick Motorsports, Elliott actually received medical clearance to return to the NASCAR Cup Series on Tuesday, April 11. He then spent time in the Chevrolet simulator before making the decision to return for the NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway.

“We’re looking forward to having Chase back in his race car to pick up where he left off,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “Since the injury, he’s worked extremely hard and focused all his time and energy on returning to the No. 9 team.

“Throughout the last six weeks, he’s stayed fully engaged with everything we’re doing, and we know he’s chomping at the bit to get on the racetrack and compete for wins.”

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Jeff Gordon Previously Created Optimism Among Elliott Fans

Prior to the announcement that Elliott would return, Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon weighed in about the possibility. He said that Elliott’s recovery was week-to-week and that he had his fingers crossed that the Georgia native could make his return.

The Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman made the comments during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on April 12. He told “The Morning Drive” that Elliott’s recovery is going “really well” and that the healing process is going as scheduled. Gordon then noted that Elliott could possibly return at Martinsville Speedway.

“It’s a week-by-week decision now, I’d say, based on doctors and how he’s feeling,” Gordon said. “Every week, I’m hopeful with fingers crossed that this is the week, and I think that’s kind of where we’re at.

“It’s possible it could happen this weekend, it’s possible it could happen next weekend, it’s possible it might be the week after that. Hard to really say.”

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A Return at Martinsville Beat the Original Timeline

The news about Elliott fracturing his tibia originally surfaced on March 3 as Hendrick Motorsports announced that he would miss the Las Vegas race with a lower-leg injury. Team President and GM Jeff Andrews then met with media members and said that Elliott would miss “several weeks” while continuing to recover.

Hendrick Motorsports did not provide a recovery timeline during the race weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, the team announced on March 7 that the expected recovery timeline was six weeks.

This initial timeline put the potential date of Elliott’s return on April 23 at Talladega Superspeedway, the site of his last Cup Series win.

With the 2020 Cup Series champion returning at Martinsville Speedway, he will beat this timeline. He will also set himself up to compete at a short track instead of at a superspeedway where he would potentially be involved in a multi-car incident.

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Elliott Will Focus Solely on Wins With His Return

With Elliott missing every race since Auto Club Speedway, he will have to adopt a new strategy when he makes his return to the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro. He will have to focus solely on wins.

Elliott is currently 34th in the Cup Series standings with 49 points. He is 134 points behind Chris Buescher, who is currently 16th and in possession of the first spot above the playoff cutline.

Tracking down the RFK Racing driver is unlikely, but Elliott can still punch his ticket to the playoffs by winning one race. The rule about sitting inside the top 30 in points is no longer in effect, so Elliott has fewer concerns than Kyle Busch did when he returned from his own injury in 2015. Busch had to stack wins to get inside of the top 30 and reach the playoffs.

The next three races on the Cup Series schedule all take place at tracks where Elliott secured wins. For example, he won at Martinsville Speedway in 2020 to reach the championship four. Elliott also won at Talladega Superspeedway in 2019 and 2022 and at Dover Motor Speedway in 2018 and 2022.

 

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