The journey along the 2023 season was not a smooth one at all for Chase Elliott. The Hendrick Motorsports icon suffered from a broken tibia, a race penalty, and several other setbacks in the season.
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Moreover, this is the first time in the last 6 years that he missed the playoffs. The only chance he had to make it into the playoff rumble got wasted when his #9 Chevy ran out of fuel on lap 55 at Watkins Glen International, perhaps due to a miscalculated pit strategy by crew chief Alan Gustafson.
Nevertheless, being the champion that Chase Elliott is, he was looking to make amends in the upcoming season. But a shoulder surgery stood in his way. Elliott has been suffering from this injury for years now, as he told The Pure Athlete.
Speaking of his offseason, the Georgia native said, “It’s been not as good as I’d probably wanted to be. I had shoulder surgery here couple weeks ago now and it’s brought on last second. My shoulder has bothered me for years. I felt like it was time I asked somebody about it When I asked somebody about it and when I asked somebody about it they’re like, your shoulder’s kinda messed up; you might need to get a surgery on it.”
“This conversation happened when I was at Phoenix, which was our; last race of the season,” said Elliot. “I knew, if I was gonna have to do something I was gonna have to (do it) pretty quick. So ended up getting MRI, kind of getting the ball rolling on that whole process right after the season was over. There was only a couple months off before we get back and start it again in early February.”
Luckily, the operation was successful, and Chase Elliott is recovering rapidly. In a recent tweet, Elliott assured his fans that everything was okay and the number 9 team was all set to step up their game in 2024.
Little life update.. pic.twitter.com/f6tKODUsfw
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) November 17, 2023
Why do NASCAR drivers suffer from shoulder injuries so often?
It’s not an unknown thing that NASCAR drivers often face issues with their shoulders. Joe Gibbs Racing icon Denny Hamlin also messed up his shoulder, which had to be fixed by surgery a few weeks back. So what is it about driving a stock car that threatens the condition of an athlete’s shoulders?
The stock cars used in NASCAR sport thunderous 900 HP engines, which easily cruise up to a blazing speed of 200 mph. At such deadly speeds, these drivers indeed put a lot on the line as they buckle themselves up to these beasts.
A NASCAR driver can experience anywhere from 3 to 5 G-forces in turns, meaning a 160-pound driver could feel like they weigh almost 500 pounds! Even when everything goes according to the plan, the driver’s body is under extreme stress and when there is even a slight crash, the force that the human body experiences is multiplied exponentially.
