Despite going through perhaps the worst season of his Cup Series career, Chase Elliott managed to bag NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver yet again. The Hendrick Motorsports driver wasn’t all sure though if he would be able to win it this time around with several other favorites hanging around.
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In the media session, Elliott revealed the names of the drivers he feared would take the award ahead of him this season. The Dawsonville native stated, “I think Ryan (Blaney) has a great following as well and obviously him having a great year thought that he would have a shot and also same for Kevin (Harvick), finishing up his career and a great career at that. And obviously, I know our fans pretty well. They’re pretty loyal folks…”
Chase Elliott said he felt Ryan Blaney or Kevin Harvick could unseat him as most popular driver (it didn’t happen). pic.twitter.com/uupITKOZmg
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) December 1, 2023
About winning his sixth consecutive Most Popular Driver award, Elliott expressed that he never takes it for granted. Although it may seem like an easy accomplishment, he is always grateful for the honor and appreciates the support he continues to receive.
“This has always been to me an extension of my family’s place in the sport and the success that they had over the years… The fans have been great to all of us and not just myself, but my entire family,” the HMS driver concluded.
Hailie Deegan and Justin Allgaier join Chase Elliott in the Most Popular Driver Award across series’
While Elliott was crowned the winner of the most popular driver award in the Cup Series, the Truck Series and Xfinity Series also announced their fan-voted favorite driver award winners.
The winner in the Xfinity Series was JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier, with ThorSport driver Hailie Deegan winning the same accolade in the Truck Series.
Interestingly, aside from the honor, Deegan is also moving up the NASCAR ladder with a full-time ride confirmed with AM Racing in the Xfinity Series from the 2024 season. She’ll be driving the #15 Ford Mustang for the team. The AM Racing outfit is in an alliance with Tony Stewart’s Cup Series team and seeing Deegan head in that route would surely help her a lot to secure her a Cup ride sometime in the future.
