Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series, swept his seventh straight National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award as fans rallied behind him to vote him in once again.
Elliott was honored during the 2024 NASCAR Awards celebration held at the Charlotte Convention Center, where they announced that 266,363 votes were cast in Elliott’s favor. Elliott has claimed the award since 2018, taking over as most popular driver after Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired, keeping the award in the Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) camp. In fact, the last 17 Most Popular Driver Awards have been given to a driver from the HMS stable.
Additionally, in the past 40 years, only one driver who did not have the last name Elliott or Earnhardt has won the award when Darrell Waltrip claimed the honors in 1989 and 1990. Bill Elliott, Chase Elliott’s father, won the award 16 times, followed by Earnhardt Jr.’s 15 times. Earnhardt Sr. won the award posthumously in 2021.
“They laid the foundation for me to be here and to have some of the opportunities I’ve had throughout my career,” Chase Elliott said of his family legacy. “I look at it from that perspective more than anything.”
He added, “I’m certainly grateful for the fans across the board. They’ve been great to me throughout my career. I’ve had the fortunate experience of seeing all that and living that first-hand. It means a lot to me. I’ll never take that for granted. I certainly want to try to make those people proud as we move into next year and beyond.”
Fellow NASCAR Chevy driver Kyle Larson raked in the second-most votes, followed by Ford’s Ryan Blaney in third. Meanwhile, in the Xfinity Series, 2024 champion and driver of the No. 7 Camaro, Justin Allgaier, was voted the division’s Most Popular Driver, marking the 13th consecutive year that the honors have gone to a driver from JR Motorsports. In the Truck Series, Rajah Caruth, who drives the No. 71 Chevy Silverado RST, was voted most popular.
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