‘Dale Earnhardt Jr. More Popular Than Chase Elliott Even in Retirement’: Kenny Wallace Reveals NASCAR Legend’s Hold on Fans

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has long been one of the biggest ambassadors for NASCAR ever since his introduction to the sport through his father, the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Regarded as a legend in the world of stock car racing, and arguably the single-most known Cup Series driver across the globe, Earnhardt Sr. and his affinity towards his son on and off the track saw die-hard fans of the sport take a similar liking towards Junior.

Now, at 50 years old, he is one of, if not the most popular figures in NASCAR. Owing to his former days driving for Hendrick Motorsports, his broadcasting stint for NBC Sports, or his popular podcast The Dale Jr. Download, the JR Motorsports owner is ‘The Face of NASCAR’ as some would say.

Former Xfinity Series winner Kenny Wallace certainly seems to think so. Despite Chase Elliott receiving the Most Popular Driver Award at the 2024 Awards Banquet in North Carolina, the former racer made his thoughts clear on where his affinity lies.

“Congratulations to Chase Elliott on NASCAR’s most popular driver. However, if last night don’t tell you how popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. is. Dale Jr. runs one Xfinity race a year. He ran it at Bristol, ran fifth. He is the most popular driver in NASCAR right now and don’t even race.”

“Because he’s got Dirty Mo Media, Dale Jr. Download, runs one race. He’s going to be back on TV next year. If they put him on the ballot, he would be the most popular driver right now,” continued Wallace.

The former Cup Series racer dominated the Most Popular Driver Award during his active racing days with 15 consecutive accolades starting with the 2003 season into 2017.

Chase Elliott has been a dominant force ever since and has taken up the mantle, winning the award from 2018 onwards. However, as Kenny elaborated, the same is only true because Junior retired from the sport, which makes him ineligible for the same.

“90 percent of the people were wearing red number eight jackets”

Speaking on Dale Jr.’s popularity and the effect he has on grassroots motorsports as a result, Wallace further elaborated on how the part-time driver’s presence at Florence Motor Speedway running the South Carolina 400 bumped up the rating of the otherwise under-the-radar event.

Running his iconic red Budweiser livery from his Cup Series days and sporting the famed number 8 on his car, Wallace opined on how the younger Earnhardt was the reason for the series’ record ratings.

He said, “I watched every lap of that race last night, even while it was buffering. Let me tell you why that Flo Racing was buffering last night, because record ratings. Everybody was logged on.”

Further driving his point home, Wallace revealed how the short-track venue seemingly achieved $1 million in souvenir sales during the event.

“I think 90 percent of the people were wearing red number eight jackets. Just watching Dale Jr. get out of the car and seeing that Budweiser ‘B’, I thought it was a time warp. Is it 1990-something all over again?” added Wallace.

Despite what the newer generation of fans might think, one thing has to be certain with the NASCAR fandom in today’s day and age. It is Dale Earnhardt Jr. who is keeping the diehard fans of yore interested and introducing them to the younger generation and vice versa, be it at the top level or otherwise.

The 50-year-old ultimately finished in P28 during his latest racing appearance at Florence after starting from P40 and fighting his way through the pack.