DOVER, Del. — Earlier than Chase Elliott shredded on a snowboard and Alex Bowman moonlighted in a dash automotive, Rick Hendrick issued a warning to all his Cup drivers who craved extracurricular actions outdoors their profitable NASCAR careers.

Watch out. Or else.

Even so, Hendrick Motorsports has change into the house of the injured driver attributable to thrill-seeking outdoors pursuits.

Bowman, who has seven profession wins, suffered a fractured vertebra in a dash automotive crash and can miss at the very least the subsequent three Cup races. Elliott, the 2021 NASCAR champion, lately returned from a six-race absence after breaking his left leg snowboarding in Colorado in March.

If these sort of mishaps occur once more to Elliott, Bowman, Kyle Larson or William Byron, it may very well be the tip of Hendrick drivers’ adventures, Hendrick Motorsports normal supervisor Jeff Andrews stated Saturday.

“For proper now, there’s not going to be any adjustments to our coverage different than simply remember,” Andrews stated. “A very powerful factor is the outcomes on Sunday within the Cup Collection.”

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Josh Berry is coming off the bench once more, this time to take the wheel of Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet at Dover Motor Speedway.

“That is Alex’s race staff,” stated Berry, who completed as excessive as second in 5 begins for Elliott. “My job on this scenario is to try to hold these guys going and ready and comfortable and able to rock ‘n’ roll every time Alex will get again.”

Berry is within the right-numbered automotive on the proper monitor if he needs to take the checkered flag: Jimmie Johnson gained a track-record 11 instances within the 48, and Bowman gained in 2021.

Elliott has vowed he will not cease snowboarding or every other non-NASCAR actions he enjoys. A five-time winner of NASCAR’s hottest driver award, Elliott understands the sequence depends on stars like him to promote tickets, goose TV scores and drive curiosity. Even Elliott’s determination to shave his mustache this week drew consideration at Dover.

Berry, in the meantime, is a candidate to exchange the retiring Kevin Harvick subsequent season at Stewart-Haas Racing, however followers do not flock to him within the storage and ask for autographs like they might for Elliott.

Hendrick largely banned drivers from taking part in extracurricular actions — guidelines associated primarily to racing outdoors of NASCAR — till Larson got here on in 2021. Larson made his identify as a giant winner within the quick distance, high-speed races. And Bowman’s harm occurred at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, in an occasion that’s a part of a racing sequence created by Larson.

Elliott stated taking away extracurriculars or eradicating the dash automobiles and late fashions off the schedule can be a giant mistake for Hendrick, including that the consecutive accidents had been nothing greater than an unlucky coincidence.

“It is clearly very, very poor timing with the place I used to be at and simply coming again and, clearly, Alex being damage this week,” Elliott stated. “Look, I get it. It is a unhealthy look. I completely perceive that. But in addition, I perceive there’s a timing piece to that, and it is simply actually poor timing.

“I feel if one occurred this yr and the opposite occurred subsequent yr, would we be having the identical dialog? Most likely not.”

Byron stated it might “be a bummer” if Hendrick modified its tune to be extra aligned with the powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing, which enforces a ban on outdoors racing.

Larson was extra blunt, saying the filth races aren’t simply one thing he does for enjoyable. They’re primarily a second job.

“I make a great chunk of cash racing, promoting merchandise on the filth tracks,” Larson stated. “I get to race in entrance of plenty of followers which may not get to see me at a NASCAR race. I weigh all of it.”

Larson, who plans to race the Indianapolis 500 subsequent season, stated “there’s threat in all the pieces you do.”

Andrews understands the risks as effectively — all outdoors races endure a evaluation course of earlier than they’re authorised — however he stated the staff cannot afford to lose out on a Cup championship and threat angering sponsors just because their drivers wish to have some enjoyable.

“We actually do not wish to inform them ‘no’ to one thing we really feel like would assist them right here on Sunday,” Andrews stated. “As an organization, we’ll simply proceed to have a look at it, proceed to speak to our guys and ensure we’re making the suitable choices collectively. Ensure that they’re in the suitable race automobiles, good race automobiles, secure race automobiles.”