The recent signing of Hendrick Motorsports star driver Chase Elliott has his fans worried. Elliott will throw out the first pitch for the Atlanta Braves on Friday night before the Quaker State 400 playoff race in Atlanta.

The Dawsonville native and HMS star is a huge Braves fan, so he gladly accepted the honor of opening the three-game series against the Blue Jays. That may not be unusual, but such a move before the crucial playoff race could prove detrimental to Elliott.

He also underwent shoulder surgery after the conclusion of last year’s racing action. It was a stubborn injury that Chase Elliott had to deal with, and only surgery allowed him to recover 100%. It’s fair to say that 2023 was not the best year for NASCAR’s most popular driver. Fortunately, he made a quick and successful recovery before the start of 2024 racing.

After recovering from a torn labrum, his decision to throw out the first pitch for the MBL series is concerning not only for him but also for his fans. However, Elliott is very much looking forward to the experience despite the risks involved. He said: “I’ll be honest, I haven’t thrown anything remotely close to a baseball since my shoulder surgery in the winter. But I’m excited. It’ll be fun. I’ve never done it before, but I’m grateful they invited me. I think it’ll be a cool experience for me that I’ll always remember.” The driver of the HMS was quoted as saying this in the Atlantic Journal-Constitution.

But his ardent followers and HMS fans on Reddit are not convinced by his adventures, knowing that a single misstep could ruin his chances of challenging for the championship at the end of the year.

Great stress due to Chase Elliott’s escapades before the NASCAR playoffs

Hendrick Motorsports drivers have a bad streak when it comes to injuries. Not only Elliott, but his teammate Alex Bowman also missed several races last year. He injured his back in a sprint car race. As such, fans don’t want to see their favorite driver suffer a freak injury after a solid run so far in 2024. “Chase, don’t do that. We don’t need you to catch the injury curse that’s been affecting everyone on the Braves this year.”

It doesn’t take much to have a shoulder injury. That was evident in Lane Riggs’ first Truck Series win at the Milwaukee Mile; the 22-year-old dislocated his shoulder while celebrating his swings in the air. This fan used that example to convince Elliott to step away from his pitching duties. “So… Lane Riggs dislocated his shoulder while celebrating his win on his truck in Milwaukee.”

The ceremonial ritual of throwing out the first pitch has long been around in MLB, but knowing that Elliott could potentially injure his tender shoulder, this Redditor considered some changes to these honorary throws. “We should let people throw the ‘last pitches’ instead of the first. Two outs in the 9th? Time for NASCAR superstar Chase Elliott to throw the last pitch.”

Although Elliott was not in the dire situation of having to sit out the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, some of them were already starting to plan HMS’s next move. “Elliott should take better care of his knee. A Washington Spirit player tore her knee during the first pitch of a Washington Nationals game.”

One fan drew an interesting comparison, pointing to the case of Olympic gold medalist and Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune. The athlete is currently sidelined for the remainder of the NWSL season after tearing her meniscus on the first pitch of a Nationals game last Wednesday. This memory serves as a cautionary tale for Chase Elliott, showing that even carefree moments can carry risks.

Another fan contributing to the controversy had prepared a scheduled message to appear online after Elliott’s talk. “As someone with recurring shoulder problems, I am now awaiting news that Chase Elliott re-injured his shoulder on the first pitch…lol.”

Chase Elliott’s injury is not a recent one. Instead, he himself admitted that he has been having problems for a long time. When he spoke to Dale Jr. about his surgery earlier this year, Chase Elliott said: “My shoulder has been giving me problems for probably 8 or 10 years.” But over time there have been significant developments on and off the field.

Hopefully the HMS star can leave his ceremonial pitch at Truist Park injury-free.