Voting for this year’s National Motorsports Press Association NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver has begun, but missing from this year’s ballot is Chase Elliott, who has claimed the award for eight consecutive years.
Elliott asked that his name be removed and requested fans vote for Kyle Busch this year. The 30-year-old Elliott’s decision mirrors that made by his father, Bill Elliott, in 2001 after the sport lost seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt in the season opening Daytona 500. At that time, the elder Elliott had won the award for 10 consecutive years.
“I was a young child (when Earnhardt died), but looking back on that, I just always thought that was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals,” Elliott said about his father’s decision. “Just something I always had a lot of respect for.”
Elliott said that before making his decision he thought about what Busch meant to his career and their relationship. He also considered the noise the fans made for Busch during his career.
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Bill Elliott in 2001, with a little Chase Elliott.
“I know he kind of embraced that villain role,” Elliott said about Busch. “Maybe people totally didn’t like him, but they sure did make a lot of noise for him.
“I just felt like because of that and because of a lot of the things that I’ve got the chance to see behind the scenes of things that he did for his fans and how much he cared about the sport and for his supporters, I felt like he deserved to win that vote.
“Maybe people totally didn’t like him, but they sure did make a lot of noise for him.”
“That’s not me saying that he wasn’t going to win by any stretch, but I do think it’s an opportunity for me to encourage the great supporters that I have and the people that have supported my family over the years to show that love and show that energy to Kyle and his family. Ultimately, I believe that he is a deserving winner of it. He has my vote.”
Elliott admitted that he admired Busch.
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Chase Elliott (left) and Kyle Busch in 2024.
“As a racer… it was really hard not to admire 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” Elliott continued.
Carson Hocevar asked to have his name removed from the ballot in support of Busch but said he was told by a former public relations person who was “really close” to Busch that he wouldn’t want to win by default. So, Hocevar said he would keep his name on the ballot but encourage his fans to vote for Busch.
“I would be very disappointed if they voted for me,” Hocevar said. “We can try and win another year.”
Chris Buescher said he could see where the drivers might support a movement to make sure Busch received the Most Popular award.
“It seems like a last little bit of tribute on this season to be able to do that,” Buescher said. “Chase (Elliott) stepping up and doing that (removing his name from the ballot) is probably the biggest start to it to see that unfold.”
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.