Chase Elliott Claims NASCAR's Most Sought-After Driver Title Once More

CHARLOTTE -- Chase Elliott continued to establish his reputation as an undeniable fan favorite in the NASCAR Cup Series, claiming the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award for the seventh consecutive year.

Recognized on Friday evening at the NASCAR Awards ceremony at the Charlotte Convention Center, Elliott garnered 266,363 votes in the only major NASCAR award solely determined by race fans.

For the past 17 years, a driver from Hendrick Motorsports has taken home the award, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. earning the honor from 2008-2017 and Elliott winning it ever since.

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In fact, in the last four decades, only one driver not named Elliott or Earnhardt has received the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award. That was Darrell Waltrip in 1989 and 1990.

Bill Elliott, Chase's father, holds the record for most wins with 16; Earnhardt Jr. has 15 consecutive wins; Dale Earnhardt Sr. won posthumously in 2001; and Chase Elliott has now won seven times.

For Chase, winning the award comes with a sense of responsibility to his family and their legacy.

"They paved the way for me to be here and have the opportunities I've had throughout my career," he said. "I see it from that perspective more than anything.

"I'm extremely grateful for all the fans. They've been amazing to me throughout my career. I've been fortunate enough to experience that firsthand. It means a lot to me. I'll never take it for granted. I want to make those people proud as we move into the next year and beyond."

Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and Elliott's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, came in second place in the voting, as expected.

Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, the 2023 series champion, finished third in the Cup Series voting.

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Newly crowned champion Justin Allgaier won the Most Popular Driver Award in the Xfinity Series for the fifth time, giving JR Motorsports its 13th consecutive win among six drivers - Allgaier, Danica Patrick, Regan Smith, Chase Elliott, Elliott Sadler, and Noah Gragson.

Rajah Caruth won his first Most Popular Driver Award in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Driving for Spire Motorsports, Caruth became the third Black driver to win a NASCAR national series race when he triumphed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Earlier on Friday, NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano began the afternoon celebrating his third title with a special solid gold car given to each year's champion from Goodyear. Later, he was finally honored by the sport at the tuxedo-and-gown banquet.

The 34-year-old now has the most titles among all active drivers in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, and he is one of only 10 competitors in the history of the sport to have earned three championship trophies.

Logano thanked his team, team owner Roger Penske, and gave a special shoutout to his wife Brittany, who he praised for taking care of their young family and home, allowing him to focus on winning the championship.

He also thanked his family members, who were in the audience, saying, "I remember when I was a kid and got a go-kart for Christmas, and now I'm sitting here as a three-time Cup champion. It's truly incredible."

The NASCAR Xfinity Series and its first-time champion, JR Motorsports' Justin Allgaier, along with Craftsman Truck Series first-time champion Ty Majeski and his ThorSport Racing team were also celebrated.

Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series champion Greg Biffle was recognized as the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Myers Brothers Award winner. Biffle, an avid pilot, flew rescue missions and dropped supplies to residents in Western North Carolina following the devastating damage from Hurricane Helene in October.

"I thought, if I didn't go, who would?" said Biffle, who received 12,000 messages for help and flew supplies into the area for 14 consecutive days after the storm hit.

"I didn't do anything different than anyone in this room would have," a humble Biffle added.

In other awards presented that night, David Wilson, the long-time president of Toyota Racing Development (TRD), was given the Bill France Award