Two NASCAR Drivers Chase Elliott Feared Ahead of Award Win

Srijan Mandal | 01/12/2023
NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (9) talks to media prior to qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway.

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.

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…”

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.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma
Chase Elliott Hailie Deegan Justin Allgaier Kevin Harvick Ryan Blaney

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Srijan Mandal

Srijan Mandal is the Lead NASCAR Editor and Strategist at The Sportsrush with a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of motorsports. With several thousand articles under his belt over the years, he has established himself as a leading authority on all things racing. His passion for motorsports started at a young age, and he has dedicated his career to covering the sport in all its forms. He is an expert in various disciplines, including stock car racing, American motorsports, Formula 1, IndyCar, NHRA, MotoGP, WRC, WEC, and several more. But Srijan's love for racing goes beyond his writing. He actively competes in professional open-wheel sim racing, using '88' as his racing number. While he mostly participates in GT Endurance classes, he also ventures into Stock Car racing from time to time. In case, you wish to contact Srijan, kindly send an email to him at [email protected] or just DM him on Twitter.

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