The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season was one to forget for both Chase Elliott and his loyal fans. He not only failed to win a race, but he also missed the playoffs for the first time in his career.
His season was derailed early by a broken leg that caused him to miss six races, along with a one-race suspension that forced him out of the car for a seventh race.
With the offseason in full swing, Elliott took to his X page to post what he called a "little life update," as he underwent surgery to repair a shoulder injury that turns out to have been plaguing him for a while.
The driver of the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports appeared in good spirits in the video, in which you can clearly see his arm supported in a sling.
He jokingly talked about how now was a better time for surgery than last time, a reference to his leg injury during the season.
Little life update.. pic.twitter.com/f6tKODUsfw
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) November 17, 2023
"Had an old injury that I needed to get tended to, and obviously, the offseason is a much better time to do that than my last surgery," Elliott said. "All good, ready to go for 2024, ... certainly looking forward to the Daytona 500 coming up in February."
Hendrick Motorsports also provided a statement regarding Elliott's procedure, officially stating that he had undergone a successful surgery to fix a torn labrum.
Elliott learned of the tear earlier in the week during an MRI, after dealing with chronic shoulder pain in recent years, according to NASCAR.com.
A clean bill of health heading into 2024 will be good for Elliott, who will look to rebound from the worst Cup season of his career.
Despite missing seven races, he finished 17th in the driver standings, the highest of those who didn't reach the playoffs. He showed some toughness and grit, given that the shoulder issue has been there the whole time.
2024 should be a far better year for the 2020 Cup champion.
