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Again NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott ‘Forever Grateful’ For Fan Support

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott hasn’t done as much winning on the racetrack as he would’ve liked over the last three years. It hasn’t stopped him from continuing to win NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award, however.

At Tuesday night’s post-season awards banquet, NASCAR announced the second-generation driver from Dawsonville, Georgia as the sport’s Most Popular Driver for the eighth year in a row.

Elliott has won the award — which is determined by an online fan vote — every year since Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from the sport at the end of the 2017 season. Earnhardt received this honor 15 times, one shy of the record belonging to Chase’s father, 1988 Cup Series champion Bill Elliott.

Who Were Chase Elliott’s Toughest Challengers For The 2025 Most Popular Driver Award?

With less than a week left in the voting, which ended at noon Eastern on November 3, four others joined Chase Elliott as a top-five vote-getter.

They were, in alphabetical order: Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.

At that time, NASCAR didn’t reveal who led in the voting. The sanctioning body also didn’t reveal the final vote totals, only saying that Elliott prevailed for the eighth consecutive year.

It’s likely no coincidence that two of the leaders in the voting (Hamlin and Larson) collectively made up 50 percent of the Championship 4. Elliott, Blaney and Chastain, though not championship finalists, all made the playoffs, with Elliott and Blaney advancing to the Round of 8 and Blaney winning Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Larson captured the championship over Hamlin at Phoenix, where Hamlin dominated prior to a late-race shakeup set in motion by a caution with three laps to go for a tire failure on William Byron’s car.

Being Named Most Popular Driver Never Gets Old For Chase Elliott

As is typically the case this time of year, Chase Elliott made sure to acknowledge his overwhelming fan support.

“Thank you for the votes,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver said in a video he shared on his X account. “Thank you for taking the time out of your day and supporting us in that way and supporting me in that way. I tell a lot of people this that I talk to about it: It’s really about the people and the support that I get to see firsthand.

“And I know not everybody has that vantage point or that perspective. But it truly is incredible. And every year, it blows me away to travel to parts of the country that you would never think people are that passionate about what we’re doing.”

Elliott, who won twice in 2025 but has triumphed only three times in the last three seasons, expressed gratitude to those who’ve stuck with him through the ups and downs.

“I want to make sure everyone understands that I’m forever grateful for (their passion), whether we win the award or we don’t win the award,” he said. “I think I have some of the best fans in the world. And I really appreciate you guys supporting me and pushing us and wanting the best for our team and being there on the good days and the bad.”

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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