On Tuesday, NASCAR revealed the top five drivers in the Most Popular Driver voting in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The Awards will be handed out at next week’s NASCAR Awards Banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While NASCAR doesn’t release vote totals, or rank them in the order that the drivers currently place in the standings, they did list the top five drivers for each series in alphabetical order.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Martin Truex Jr. ar the top five vote-getters, currently.
Blaney was the runner-up driver in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, and his popularity has been on an upward trajectory for the last several years. Blaney was the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Busch, a once highly-hated driver, has become more popular amongst fans since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing for Richard Childress Racing in 2023. While Busch didn’t win any races this year, for the first time in any full-time season of his NASCAR Cup Series career, he maintains a large fanbase and is in the conversation for Most Popular Driver.
Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has been the Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Cup Series in each of the last six seasons. It would be considered a massive upset if any of the drivers listed surpass Elliott in voting this season, but people can dream, right?
Larson put up a series-best six wins this year in the NASCAR Cup Series, and he was the first driver to attempt the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double since Kurt Busch in 2014. However, Larson was unable to complete the double as a rain delay at Indianapolis led to him missing the start of the Coca-Cola 600, and once he arrived in Concord to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series race, the weather ended that race before Larson could actually get in his car. Larson is a fan favorite among racing purists and those who love drivers who never stop racing anything and everything with wheels.
Truex is set to step away from full-time competition in the NASCAR Cup Series after a lengthy, and illustrious career, which included a 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Could Truex head into his part-time 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign as the Most Popular Driver? Time will tell, but it would be a cool tribute.
The top five drivers in NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver voting are 2024 champion Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, Parker Kligerman, and Jesse Love.
The top five drivers in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Most Popular Driver voting are Rajah Caruth, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim, and 2024 champion Ty Majeski.
One Response
Good To See Busch In The Running.