Class act.
Voting for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award opened today, and the driver who has won it every year since 2018 won’t be on the ballot.
Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 car for Hendrick Motorsports, has won the fan-voted award every year since Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired in 2018. But NASCAR announced today that he has removed himself from the ballot in honor of Kyle Busch, who passed away in May.
This will be Busch’s final year on the ballot and last opportunity to win the award, and after his death Elliott threw his support behind Busch:
“I’m not guaranteed the win, so let’s make that clear, number one. That’s not me saying me, ‘Oh, it’s mine and I need to remove myself for that reason.’ I just think it’s one of those things that, I think that Kyle is a guy who really deserves an award like that. He’s a guy that’s had a lot of fans throughout the course of his career. I know the boos, and it was fun and all those things, but a lot of supporters, a lot of really passionate fans.
Just feel like he deserves to win the award, truthfully. Obviously don’t know what was going to happen this year, but I just wanted to throw my support and lend an opportunity to make sure that I didn’t get in the way of that.”
The move mirrors the one made by his dad, Bill Elliott, who removed himself from the ballot back in 2001 in the year that Dale Earnhardt passed away. The senior Elliott had won the award 10 consecutive times prior to 2001, but Earnhardt took home the award that year for the first and only time following his death.
Elliott would go on to win it again in 2002 before Earnhardt Jr. began his streak, winning Most Popular Driver 15 times in a row until his retirement in 2017.
Now, fans still have to vote, so obviously there’s no guarantee that the award goes to Busch. There are still 34 other drivers on the ballot, though you’d have to believe that Busch will be the overwhelming favorite given the outpouring of love and support for the legendary two-time Cup Series champion since his death.
If you want to vote, you can go to nascar.com/mostpopulardriver and cast your ballot now. Voting is open now through noon on November 9, the day after the Cup Series finale at Homestead Miami Speedway. Fans can vote for one driver per ballot, and cast up to five ballots per day.
I think we’re all in agreement to vote this one for Rowdy, right?
