“We’ve not had a superstar race car driver in a long time in this sport,” Kyle Petty said earlier this year. The wisdom in these words was reflected in the announcement of this season’s Most Popular Driver award. Chase Elliott clinched the title for the 7th consecutive time, stamping himself as a true icon of the sport. Or is he? Because motorsports headlines are still occupied with his predecessor, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The 26-time Cup Series race winner mesmerized fans on Saturday when he brought back the No. 8 Budweiser’s colors to Florence Motor Speedway. Despite running a Late Model Race and fans experiencing broadcast glitches, the South Carolina 400 was an absolute hit. That was just because Dale Earnhardt Jr was present, the omnipresent and possibly the last star of NASCAR.

Dale Earnhardt Jr occupies NASCAR’s gaping hole

Gone are the days of Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt Sr when one driver stood out of the pack and became a legend of pop culture. Currently, NASCAR drivers fight with an increasing trend of parity in the sport. The introduction of a 10-race playoff format in 2014 ensures four postseason qualifiers are eliminated every three races – one poor finish could doom a championship contender. “With this format, you can win 35 races and not win the championship,” Kyle Busch said. Then NASCAR supplies the Next-Gen car’s chassis and other parts, thereby further diminishing a driver or team’s dominance.

Although Chase Elliott acquired the distinction of a 7-time Most Popular Driver, he hardly holds a candle to legends like Earnhardt, Petty, or Jeff Gordon. On top of that, Dale Earnhardt Jr continues to rule the fans’ hearts despite retiring from full-time NASCAR racing 7 years ago. Eric Estepp explained recently: “On the same weekend that Chase Elliott wins his 7th NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award, Dale Earnhardt Jr, his predecessor running a short-track race in South Carolina on a spotty stream that most couldn’t even watch continued to dominate the headlines. In some ways, it was a perfect storm. The return of the Budweiser 8 even in Late Model form tickled everyone’s nostalgia bone.”

What Estepp emphasized was how the South Carolina 400 was enough to show Dale Jr’s popularity that exists even today. His return to the racetrack in the iconic #8 red and black car, sporting the Budweiser logo was enough to send fans back to a different era of the sport. Despite Earnhardt Jr. not winning a single championship during his time in the sport, he’s still one of the most memorable drivers on the track. While it may be partly because of the respect the Earnhardt name carries, it still holds.

The race itself was fantastic – Dale Earnhardt Jr went from 40th to 2nd by the race’s mid-point. A mechanical failure ousted him with 31 laps left, but then the fans’ emotions reigned on the racetrack. Estepp continued, “As for the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr put on a show…those who were able to watch the race in person noted that as soon as the 8 car went behind the wall, fans began to pour out of the grandstands – reminiscent of NASCAR races 10-15 years ago…This whole campaign was the latest reminder that Dale Earnhardt Jr was the last NASCAR superstar.”

Estepp is not the only one harboring this view, as many NASCAR veterans have lamented about the lack of an icon.

Are NASCAR superstars a myth now?

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Richard “The King” Petty ruled the 1960s and ‘70s, winning seven Cup championships. Then Dale Earnhardt Sr matched this record during the 1980s and the 1990s. Jeff Gordon came on to win four titles at the turn of the millennium. Then Jimmie Johnson came along to join these legends on Mount Rushmore, winning 7 titles including 5 consecutive ones.

But since Johnson’s 2016 championship, nobody has come close to this elite group. Joey Logano made an example this year, clinching his third title. But the circumstances were shady under the playoff format. NASCAR eliminated the Team Penske driver from the Round of 8 – it was Alex Bowman’s penalty that vaulted Logano back into the championship bid.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch lamented about NASCAR’s lack of a superstar this year. Larry McReynolds, the crew chief for Earnhardt’s 1998 Daytona 500 win and now a Fox television analyst, thinks Johnson is one of a lost breed. “I’ll never be bold enough to say we won’t see another Jimmie Johnson, but I’m just not sure we’re ever going to see another driver winning multiple championships like that. Seven championships is a tall order. Only three drivers in the history of our sport have ever done that, but to me, the thing that has set Jimmie apart was five in a row when the competition was getting tougher and tougher, and all these different generations of cars and rules changes and aero changes.”

Evidently, the NASCAR veterans are well aware of the sport’s lack of an icon. Unless something is done to change the playoff format or the Next-Gen car, this problem may be there for a long time.