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via Imago

via Imago

Whether it was bad luck or a bad decision, Chase Elliott met with a ski accident and is now set to miss several races in the upcoming weeks. However, it’s true that none of it might have happened if someone had warned Elliott the way Dale Earnhardt Jr was back in 2008.

In a recent episode of Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr reminisced about his own risky ski-related adventure.

During the conversation, Earnhardt Jr. revealed, “There’s some things that I wanted to do and I did do and some things I didn’t do. For example, I had just signed a new deal with Rick Hendrick in 2008. Just signed one. I was making substantially more money than I ever made at DEI. So, this is a very brand new thing, I just got a big raise, right?”

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However, on his family trip to Aspen, Earnhardt Jr. was presented with a difficult choice. He shared that after receiving a substantial raise at Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt Jr went on a vacation. And even though he isn’t much of a skier, he was tempted to give in to the adventurous opportunity. However, someone stopped him.

He shared, “I’m not a skier, not good at it, hardly ever done it. Most everybody that went wanted to ski. I was willing to go, give it a try and somebody in my group said, ‘Hey man! You know you just signed that new thing. You don’t know how to ski. Maybe this ain’t for you. Maybe this trip… you don’t do it.”

READ MORE: “You Don’t Have to Be a Hero” – Kyle Petty Has a Stern Message for Chase Elliott’s “Placeholder” NASCAR Replacement

Dale Earnhardt Jr on how Chase Elliott made a ‘personal choice’

During the conversation, Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed that even though he did not ski that day after someone’s warning, the decision was entirely his. Explaining how indulging in activities that are outside the NASCAR tracks is dependent on a driver’s personal choice, Earnhardt Jr said, “Now, I ended up going skiing years later. But in that moment maybe it was a good choice not to ski.”

“But that’s a personal choice and always should be a personal choice. So, hopefully, there’s people that are around each driver making sure they have all that information that if you get injured today here’s what happens.”

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Chase Elliott’s injury’s repercussions are clearly visible in Hendrick Motorsports’ performance this weekend. Elliott’s replacement, Josh Berry, is juggling Xfinity races along with filling in the #9 seat. And this can be the reason putting in his best performance seemed like a struggle for the 32-year-old at Las Vegas. He finished in the 29th position, upsetting a lot of Hendrick Motorsports fans.

WATCH THIS STORY: Chase Elliott Has “Formal Request” to Alter “Script” Rejected in Cheeky Declaration Amid Injury Setback