Chase Elliott says a broken leg will not prompt him to quit snowboarding or discourage him from participating in other off-track activities.
Elliott is slated to returning to NASCAR racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia when he will drive the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet for Sunday’s NOCO 400.
Elliott, 27, has been sidelined since he broke his left tibia on March 3 in a snowboarding accident in Colorado. He missed the past six races.
“I wasn’t out doing anything that was wild or crazy,” Elliott, an experienced snowboarder, said Thursday. “I don’t have a cool story to tell. It was just that perfect storm that could happen at any point in time.”
Elliott underwent surgery in Vail, Colo., and he still has screws in the leg. He was medically cleared Tuesday and then was tested Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning in the Driver-in-the-Loop simulator in Concord, N.C., before Hendrick Motorsports announced his return.
The 2020 Cup Series Champion made it clear he will continue to snowboard. He views the sport and other activities he engages in as tools that improve his physical fitness.
“I feel like you have to enjoy your life and go do things that are a nice escape from this every week,” Elliott said. “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.”
Josh Berry drove the No. 9 car in five of the events Elliott missed and is on standby at Martinsville in case Elliott has a setback. Jordan Taylor handled the driving duties in the other race.