Matt Johnson
The entire NASCAR community is hurting this weekend following the sudden passing of Kyle Busch. In what has been one of the darkest times in the sport in decades, Chase Elliott seemingly plans to take a page out of his father’s book.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday in Charlotte, Elliott shared that he would be “in extreme favor” of Busch being named the NASCAR Most Popular Driver in 2026 and potentially doing what his dad did more than two decades ago.
“I would be in extreme favor of Kyle winning the vote. He’s a guy that certainly poured a lot of his life into the sport…I would certainly be in favor of him winning and whatever it took. It would be really deserving for him to have that honor.”
Chase Elliott on Kyle Busch potentially winning NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver
Bill Elliott was voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver 16 times in the Cup Series, including 10 consecutive honors through 2000. However, following the death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500, he withdrew his name from consideration for the award in 2001 and encouraged his fans to vote for Earnhardt.
Elliott won it the following year before Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated the honor every season from 2003 to 2017. Earnhardt Jr.’s streak came to an end in 2018, when Chase began his own eight-year run of being voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver.
While it’s a tragedy that Elliott may have to do the same thing his father did following the sudden loss of a fan favorite, it’s a nice way to honor everything that Busch meant to NASCAR. With Elliott’s encouragement and the outpouring of love shown for Busch this weekend, it feels evident that he’ll posthumously be named the Most Popular Driver in 2026.
