Chase Elliott won’t win a ninth consecutive NASCAR Most Popular Driver award. But there is a reason. Elliott has withdrawn his name from consideration for the award as a tribute to two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch, who died suddenly on May 21 at age 41 from complications from pneumonia.
Elliott’s father, who had won the award for 10 consecutive years (and 16 overall), did the same in 2001 when Dale Earnhardt died in the 2001 Daytona 500. "Looking back on that, I just always thought that was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals, and just something that I just always had a lot of respect for," Elliott said Saturday during his media availability at Talladega Superspeedway. Other drivers in the Cup Series have posted on social media encouraging their fans to vote for Busch.
The award is determined by online voting administered by NASCAR and the National Motorsports Press Association. Elliott did not want to presume that even if his name was on the ballot that he would win the award, which he has claimed every year since Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired. "He kind of embraced that villain role, and maybe people totally didn't like him, but they sure did make a lot of noise for him.
I think we can all agree on that," Elliott said. "I just felt like because of that, and because of a lot of things that I 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 that he deserved to win that vote. "That being said, just because I was in there, 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 ultimately to show that love and show that energy to Kyle and his family." Elliott said he was a Kyle Busch fan growing up. "Anybody my age and probably a little younger that was coming along at that point in time and got to see his dominance … 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," Elliott said. "The guy was killing it.
He was unbeatable at some places. … 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 some of the things he changed the game with." Several drivers have advocated to their fans to vote for Busch: — Carson Hocevar posted on his Instagram story: "Don’t vote for me. Vote for Kyle Busch." — Kyle Larson posted on social media, "He’s got my vote." — Chase Briscoe posted: "Made my vote," referring to voting for Busch.
"He’s always been deserving of that award," Larson told me Saturday. "Kyle’s been one of the most popular throughout his whole time in NASCAR. "This would just be another way to honor him." NASCAR said they didn’t get any formal requests for drivers (other than Elliott) to remove their names from the ballot, but Larson and Hocevar indicated drivers were discouraged from doing so.
Hocevar, who was thought to potentially challenge Elliott for the Most Popular Driver award, said someone close to Kyle Busch told him he wouldn’t want to win it by default. "I’ll just urge my fans to go vote for him," Hocevar said during a media availability Saturday. "I’d be very disappointed if they voted for me.
We can try and win another year." In Hocevar’s view, the polarizing Busch was the most popular driver in a way. "Kyle was the most popular driver here at one point, right?" he said. "The whole garage and everybody, every article — it’s crazy.
A driver that was probably super hated or not appreciated enough. He’s super appreciated now after his passing, and I think it just feels right." Briscoe said it was one of those awards Busch would have appreciated. "I do think it was one of those awards that down deep, he probably didn't think he would ever win, but he always wanted to win, right?" Briscoe told me Saturday.
"He's kind of won it all at NASCAR, and that would be like the one thing I feel like he probably didn't even think he would ever win. "I just think it'd be a cool thing for the family, and just not that it's closure on everything that happens, but it would be just a nice thing to happen this year for the family."
