It’s been 36 years since a NASCAR driver without the last name Earnhardt or Elliott has won Most Popular Driver. Talladega, Chase Elliott removes himself from contention so Kyle Busch can win.
Elliott has held the spot for seven seasons, winning every year since Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from the NASCAR Cup Series. Earnhardt won it every year since Chase’s father, Bill Elliott, retired in 2002.
The elder Elliott won it every year from 1991 to 2002, except in 2001.
In 2001, following the shocking death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. on the last lap of the Daytona 500, Elliott removed himself from contention out of respect. This year, his son did the same, taking his name off the docket so Kyle Busch could win posthumously.
The NASCAR community tragically lost Busch in the spring, the Thursday before the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, to sepsis.
Ever polarizing and often hated by fans of his competitors, Busch was never the most popular driver. But in losing him and mourning him, the NASCAR community has come together, with begrudging respect, to see the importance of his legacy.
“When Dale passed in the early 2000s, dad removed his name,” Elliott said. “Ultimately, I was a young child, but looking back on that, I just always thought that was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals.”
For the younger Elliott, Busch was less of a rival and more of an inspiration. Watching him dominate from week to week as a kid coming up at the racetrack. He was a fan.
“Yeah, I was a fan,” Elliott said. “Really anybody my age and probably a little younger that were coming along at that point in time and got to see his dominance. I mean, if somebody sits there and tells you that they didn’t want to be like that in some way, shape, or form, they are lying to your face.
“The guy was killing it. He was out there and he was unbeatable at some places. And I feel like he kind of embraced that role, and he loved that character that he took on and kind of being that villain role. But as a racer and a guy coming along, it was really hard not to admire just his craft and how good he was behind the wheel, and just some of the things that he changed the game with from a race car driver’s perspective and coming from somebody who loves the discipline of what we do and the craft behind the wheel that ultimately makes somebody better than the next a lot. “
Elliott was allowed to remove his name from contention as his dad did, but other drivers were advised not to.
With the reasoning of Kyle wouldn’t want to win by default, drivers like Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar were told to stay on the ballot.
Even though their names are on the ballot, they’re asking their fans not to vote for them.
“It’s crazy what a driver that was probably super hated or not appreciated enough,” Hocevar said. “He’s super, super appreciated now after his passing. And I think it just feels right. And I texted somebody, and I was like, ‘Hey, just go ahead and take my name off.’ And they used to be PR really close to Kyle, and they’re like, “Hey, he wouldn’t want to win it by default.”
Larson didn’t ask to be taken off the ballot because he knew NASCAR wanted to minimize the number of guys removing themselves.
“So yeah, hopefully everybody votes for him,” Larson said. “I would pull my name off the ballot if I was allowed to, but it didn’t sound like we were allowed to pull my name off the ballot.”
Larson, Elliott and Hocevar have cast their votes for Busch to win this year. It’s reasonable to assume every other driver will follow suit.
Victoria Beaver is a nomadic sports writer who spends her time hopping between race tracks and hippie farms. She’s covered every corner of motorsports that will let her in from 410 Sprints to NASCAR to Supercross. Her daily driver is a 2010 Subaru that she refused to do the smallest amount of preventative maintenance on. Instead, she spends her free time and money building a 42-foot Skoolie to one day travel the country full time.