In Rick Hendrick’s Untimely Absence, Chase Elliott Aware of ‘Emotional’ Stakes in Martinsville

Martinsville is firmly woven into the fabric of Hendrick Motorsports in ways that fans perhaps cannot even imagine. So on the team’s 40th anniversary, racing at the iconic short track will be a special occasion. However, team owner Rick Hendrick will not be there due to knee surgery. This will be a bit disappointing for the team, but Chase Elliott is looking to make his boss proud at the venue regardless of his presence.

Chase Elliott has a good idea about what’s at stake on Sunday

Hendrick underwent knee replacement surgery earlier this month and it was revealed that he would not be able to recover to be present at the Martinsville race. According to Jayski, he is “just not ready for a day at the track.” However, Chase Elliott understands the importance of this track and this race for the team and he, along with his teammates, will do anything possible to win at the iconic short track.

“Yeah you can just tell when something means a little extra to the boss and to Linda and it does. This is a place that has had a lot of success for The Hendrick Motorsports family and a terrible loss too and for that reason, it’s special in both good and horrific ways and for this place to have hosted their first win and now this weekend, it’s kind of crazy the timing and the meaning behind it all. I think there’s a lot of emotion around it. I know it means a lot to Rick and Linda both ultimately we all just think that we can make them proud…you can tell what it does mean to them and it’s a lot,” he said ahead of the race.

Hendrick Motorsports has experienced the best of times and absolute rock bottom at Martinsville Speedway, which is why the venue holds such importance. This was also the track that saved HMS from shutting down.

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The significance of Martinsville for Hendrick Motorsports

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In its very first season (1984) in the Cup Series, Hendrick Motorsports was a team with only five employees and struggled to get decent results. The team was on the verge of shutting operations down for good before Geoff Bodine stormed to a race victory at Martinsville and saved the team’s future. Today, that team is one the most successful ones in the history of NASCAR. But not all stories have a happy ending.

In 2004, as Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag here in the October race, the team learned of that horrific plane crash that killed all 10 on board which included company executives and family members. One of the people on board was Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky, the memory of who remains strong to this day in the hearts of everyone on the team. “Part of the reason that the success at Martinsville is so special is because of the tragedy at Martinsville, if that makes sense,” crew chief Cliff Daniels had once said as per NASCAR.

So it’s no wonder that everyone, including Chase Elliott, is taking a lot of pressure to make sure that at least one of them wins the grandfather clock at Martinsville. Will HMS come out on top? Let us know your thoughts.

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