“We’ll See”: Chase Elliott Rules Out a Shoulder Injury Epidemic in NASCAR for Now

In the 2022 season, concussion was a common type of injury that plagued several NASCAR drivers, with the most unfortunate victim being Kurt Busch. It’s a well-known fact that a major part of that was the Next Gen car. However, could a similar pattern be still present in the sport right now? After all, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin both recently underwent shoulder surgeries. So could there be something in the racecar itself, something that NASCAR is responsible for when it comes to drivers having shoulder problems?

Well, Chase Elliott doesn’t think so.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver was asked this very question recently and he said this thought never crossed his mind. “I don’t think my injury was NASCAR or racing-related. Could it have been? Maybe. It’s been going on a long time,” he described.

“Have I hurt my shoulder in a wreck in the past 8 to 10 years? Probably. It probably did hurt at some point in time. It’s a fair thing to say.”

Elliott thought it was from high school period from playing ball and things like that which ultimately bothered him enough to the point of where he wanted it to be looked at, after which surgery was “the best option” for him. He added, “I’m not sure. As time goes on, if we see a trend with shoulders maybe it has something to do with being in the car, how our seats are mounted, maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see as we get down the road.”

NASCAR’s most popular driver also emphasized that he was looking to get the ball rolling to get some answers and considering the short off-season, he deemed getting surgery a good decision to get it done.

Could Chase Elliott be at the risk of missing pre-season preparations?

As Denny Hamlin suggested recently how he might be at risk of missing the season opener Clash because of his recovery time, Chase Elliott was also asked if he could also potentially miss out on racing or preparation for the coming season given his surgery.

“Until I get the OK to get back to normal life, I’m not gonna be driving anything with my right arm. Until I get the ok to get back to working out and normal functioning day-to-day activities, I’m not gonna do anything just because it’s not worth hurting anything at this point in time,” he said. Elliott claimed it wouldn’t do him any good, jumping to the gun and trying to do something too quick.

He ended on a wise note, pointing out how getting proper recovery is also a piece of one’s health and long-term life.