“There Was a Line of People Waiting for an Autograph”- Bubba Wallace’s Spotter Calls Out Fans’ Double Standards Amid Chase Elliott Injury

Chase Elliott and his injury is all that anyone can talk about. In case you are unaware, the Hendrick Motorsports star injured himself while snowboarding. This occurred just before the Cup race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, probably giving his team a headache. Luckily, the organization managed to rope in Josh Berry at the last moment, but the worst was yet to come. Elliott was subjected to a wave of criticism by the fans for his extracurricular activities. Among the few who supported the 2020 Cup champion was Freddie Kraft, the spotter for 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace.

Freddie Kraft made an appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast and spoke about the reaction to one of the hottest topics in the sport.

He said, “The thing that really cracked me up about this. Literally blew up hundreds of tweets and stuff about, ‘There’s your one idiot’, ‘What an Idiot’, ‘How could he do this?’ The guy ran a Midget at the Chili Bowl, he ran a Midget a bunch of times last year, with no experience. No experience whatsoever. Just jumped in a Midget and went, which I think is one of the most dangerous forms of racing that we have in this country.”

“Every time I saw him race, there was a line of people waiting for an autograph.”

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“While they were there, were they shouting at him, ‘You’re an idiot for doing this, because you’re jeopardizing your season in the #9 car’? No!”

“So if you’re going to show up and support him at these dirt races when he’s out there risking just as much, you can say, he’s trying to improve his race craft. There’s a reason why JGR basically told Christopher Bell, ‘You’re done driving Midgets after that race in Texas’.”

What will the Chase Elliott saga mean for Hendrick Motorsports?

Chase Elliott’s accident could have a ripple effect on Hendrick Motorsports. Obviously, NASCAR drivers need some hobbies outside of their job, so they indulge in them. This is especially true for Kyle Larson, who is well known for juggling other racing activities alongside his NASCAR career.

The risk of injury is always going to be there, so where does one draw the line? Drivers could even get some injuries while sitting in the comfort of their own homes. As it would be silly to restrict them to sitting at home and twiddling their thumbs, it falls on the driver to watch out for their own safety while performing any activity.

One thing is for sure, this will certainly be a massive wake-up call for Chase Elliott. If this was any other motorsport, missing so many races due to injury would have ruled out a championship win. However, Kyle Busch proved in 2015 that one can come back from an injury and still clinch the championship. The big question now is, can Elliott emulate Busch and challenge for the 2023 Cup Series crown? Only time can tell, especially as it is not yet known when he will be back in the saddle.

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