Chase Elliott drops out of NASCAR fan vote to honor Kyle Busch
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- Chase Elliott removed his name from the 2026 NASCAR Most Popular Driver ballot on October 23.
- He ended an eight-year winning run to honor the late Kyle Busch, who died in May.
- Fan voting runs from October 23 to noon ET on November 9, and the winner is named November 10.
Chase Elliott will not win the NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award in 2026. He asked for his name to be removed from the ballot on Friday, October 23.
He ended an eight-year winning run. He did it to honor Kyle Busch, who died in May.
What happened
The National Motorsports Press Association opened fan voting on Friday morning. It announced the ballot without its eight-time reigning winner.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, asked to be taken off the list.
His reason was simple. He wants the award to go to Kyle Busch.
Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, died in May. The NASCAR website confirmed that Busch stays on the ballot and can win.
Elliott first won the award in 2018. That was the year after Dale Earnhardt Junior retired.
Earnhardt Junior had won it 15 straight years. Elliott then won every year from 2018 to 2025.
Eight straight wins made him one of the top winners ever.
The voting runs for more than two weeks. Polls opened at 9 in the morning Eastern time on October 23.
They close at noon Eastern time on Monday, November 9. That is the day after the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The winner will be named on November 10. The award will be handed out at the NASCAR Awards banquet in Miami.
Fans can vote on the NASCAR website or the NASCAR Mobile App. Each fan gets one vote per ballot.
Each email can send up to five ballots per day. The five daily votes do not have to go to the same driver.
Fan Rewards members earn 25 points on their first vote.
Busch is one of 35 Cup drivers on the ballot. The list includes Busch and 34 other drivers who ran for Cup points this year.
Fans can also vote in two other series. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series have their own votes.
Justin Allgaier has won the O'Reilly award three years in a row. Rajah Caruth has won the Truck award two straight years.
Elliott talked about this plan months ago. He said in May that he was "in extreme favor of Kyle winning the vote," according to Heavy.
He said Busch "poured a lot of his life into this sport." He added that Busch had many passionate fans over a long career.
Why it matters
This award has lived inside two families for decades. Bill Elliott, Chase's father, holds the record with 16 wins.
Dale Earnhardt Junior won 15 in a row from 2003 to 2017. Chase Elliott then won eight straight.
That is a combined 39 awards for two family names.
With Elliott out, the streak ends. For the first time in 36 years, neither an Elliott nor an Earnhardt will win.
Darrell Waltrip was the last outsider to take the award. He won it in 1990, according to Heavy.
Elliott's move copies his father's gesture from 2001. Bill Elliott stepped aside after Dale Earnhardt Senior died that year.
Earnhardt was then voted the winner. Now the same kind of tribute could happen again, this time for Busch.
Busch never won this award in his life. He won two championships but not the fan vote.
Some fans booed him for years. Still, he built a loyal fan base across two decades.
A win this year would be the first time he takes the honor.
NASCAR driver feuds have drawn huge fan attention this year. Fans also followed Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar's post-race clash at Phoenix closely.
The Most Popular Driver vote is another big fan debate. Sports fans argued this week over the Atlanta Falcons' throwback logo backlash too.
The award itself is special in racing. It was first given in 1949 to Curtis Turner.
The press association has run it since 1983. It is the only major NASCAR award decided fully by fans, according to Jayski.
No judges vote. No points decide it. Fans pick the winner.
What happens next
Voting is open now and runs to November 9. Fans who want to vote can visit the vote page on the NASCAR website.
The site posts updates on the top 10 and top five drivers before the winner is named.
The big question is whether Busch wins. He is eligible, and many fans want the tribute to happen.
Elliott said he would be in favor of whatever it takes. If Busch wins, it would follow the path from 2001.
A late champion would take the fan award after death.
The other question is who rises next. Without Elliott, the field is open.
Young drivers have built big followings this year. The next two weeks will show who fans back the most.
One thing is clear already. The Elliott era of this award is over for now.
A new winner will take the stage in Miami on November 10. Fans now get to pick who that will be.
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