Where did Chase Elliott finish in his NASCAR come back race at Martinsville? 

Chase Elliott returned to racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway with one goal in mind - to win. The Hendricks Motorsports driver missed the previous six Cup Series races after injuring his leg in a snowboarding accident in Colorado, putting him so far behind in the standings that winning a race gives him his only realistic chance of entering the NASCAR playoffs.

Elliott got back in his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and managed a 10th-placed finish at the end of 400 hard-fought laps around the 0.526-mile paperclip in Virginia to mark a promising return to the track.

While it's encouraging to hear that one of the most successful drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series held up well in his first race back from injury, Elliott's race got off to a poor start. While many assumed that the 27-year-old was taking it easy in the early stages, he clarified that this was not the case.

While the No. 9 car was far from a serious contender ahead of the race, Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson continued to make adjustments during the race, and by the last run, they managed to salvage a decent finish.

"Like I said, to get a top-10, I thought that was something to be proud of, especially with how bad we ran all day, I mean, s**t, we were barely hanging onto the lead lap," Elliott said during the post-race interview. "Probably deserved to go a lap down there for a long time. I was proud of that. Good fight and way to finish strong."

Given how far off his car was during the race, and the fact that this was Elliott's first race back, he couldn't be more pleased with his 10th-place result at Martinsville.

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Chase Elliott on returning to Martinsville after broken leg

After injuring his leg in a bizarre snowboarding accident in Colorado, Chase Elliott missed the previous six Cup Series races. He now has to win a race to qualify for the NASCAR playoffs.

The Hendricks Motorsports driver is 31st in the Cup Series standings with just 76 points on the board - 226 behind Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell.

"We are in a position where we are going to have to win, or at least that is how I have been looking at it,You miss a few weeks and you’re pretty much going to have to win,” Elliott said.

Despite Elliott's injury not happening on the track, he has been given a waiver allowing him to compete for the Cup championship.