The National Motorsports Press Association announced Friday that 2026 Most Popular Driver Award voting has opened — without the eight-time reigning NASCAR Cup Series winner on the ballot. Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, opted to remove his name from consideration in honor of Kyle Busch, who died in May.
Elliott first won the Most Popular Driver Award in 2018, the year following Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement. Earnhardt Jr. won the award 15 consecutive years until stepping away from full-time competition. Elliott’s father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, won the award a record 16 times.
Busch, along with the 34 other Cup Series drivers who declared for points in that series and were eligible for championship contention in 2026, is on the ballot and eligible to win. Fans can also cast votes to select Most Popular Driver Award recipients in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.
VOTE NOW: Cup | O’Reilly | Trucks
To vote, visit the Most Popular Driver landing page. Fans can vote for one driver per ballot submission with voting being limited to five submissions per day, per email at NASCAR.com/mostpopulardriver or on the NASCAR Mobile App. The five votes per day aren’t limited to a single driver.
Fan Rewards members will earn 25 points on their first vote from the Rewards dashboard.
The polls are open from 9 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 23 until Noon ET on Monday, Nov. 9 — the day after the Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The winner will be revealed on Nov. 10 at the NASCAR Awards banquet in Miami after Championship Weekend.
Updates for the top 10 and top five drivers in each series will be posted before the winners are announced.
MORE: See all Cup Series Most Popular Driver winners
Justin Allgaier has won in the O’Reilly Series three years in a row and six of the last seven times. Rajah Caruth took Truck Series honors the last two seasons.