It was in 1949 when Curtis Turner won the first Most Popular Driver award after the completion of the NASCAR Cup Series season. As the season nears its end, the National Motorsports Press Association opens the voting as it opened on October 28th and the voting will conclude on 21st November. Each fan can cast 5 votes for one driver, one vote per day, and help their favorite driver win the title.

To be considered for the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award in the NASCAR Cup Series, a driver must have been officially entered in the 2024 season, declared for points, and been eligible to compete for the championship title. Currently, Chase Elliott is the front-runner and despite remaining undefeated since 2018, Elliott’s 7th consecutive award could be in jeopardy with two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch in the top 5!

Can Kyle Busch win the Most Popular Driver Award?

Currently, the top 5 drivers in contention for the award in the Cup Series are 2023 champion and 2024 runners-up Ryan Blaney, 2020 champion Chase Elliott, 2021 champion Kyle Larson, 2017 Cup champion and now retired Martin Truex Jr, and lastly Kyle Busch. Among the five, only Busch is the one who did not qualify for the 2024 playoffs. NASCAR Journalist Joseph Srigley took it to X to share the top 5 constants from all three NASCAR Series:

Rather, the 2024 season has been the worst so far for the Richard Childress Racing driver. Kyle Busch remained winless and only managed five top 5s and ten top 10s in the season. Which is his lowest since his debut full season in 2005. 2024 also marks the first season the veteran has remained without a win. This comes after his 63 Cup victories, being the highest among the active drivers. The only one close to him is Denny Hamlin, with his 54 wins. Busch has finished the season in 20th place, which is also his lowest rank since 2005.

Winless or not, ‘Rowdy’ is a fan favorite for dominating the series many times in the past. His being in the top 5 despite the poor season shows how fans rally behind him no matter what. Busch also took it to X to share his gratitude for his team and fans for having his back no matter what. He wrote on X,  “Arguably the toughest year of my career. Full of trials, and heartbreaks. I know my RCR guys are gonna get after it this winter and we’ll come back stronger next season. Grateful for all of our partners, helping us do what we love. Thx Rowdy Nation for sticking with me. Y’all r the best.”

However, Elliott’s streak of MPDA isn’t just threatened by Kyle Busch, even MTJ hasn’t had the best of his seasons and is still a front-runner. After barely making the playoffs, Truex Jr was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and similar to Busch, Truex has remained winless in his last Cup Series season. MTJ after the turmoil-filled season ended in P10. The future hall of famer after his last Cup race said, “From here forward, I’m just going to go have some fun and do a little bit of racing here and there just for fun. Hopefully, it will be less stressful than days like today.” NASCAR, in a tribute, took it to X to show MTJ’s journey in the sport. And fans have been with him since the beginning, making him another favorite to win the 2024 award. Here, take a look:

Other than two former champions bringing in the emotional appeal. Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney have been dominating this season and can bag the award this year.

Can it be Kyle Larson or Ryan Blaney?

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After the voting concluded on November 21, 2024. The following evening, during the annual NASCAR Awards Ceremonies in Charlotte, North Carolina, the winners of the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series Most Popular Driver Awards will be announced. And it could be Kyle Larson! If the champion was crowned based on performance and stats, Kyle Larson would have been unbeatable. Larson is the winningest driver in the 2024 season. Not only that, but his average finish has been 8.8 which is better than all the drivers in the season, including the championship 4. Larson also led the highest laps (1,699) this season, making him a strong contender.

Next, Ryan Blaney almost won the 2024 championship, only finishing 0.34 seconds behind his teammate. Had there been some more laps, he would have probably caught Joey Logano. And the 2023 champ has shown commendable race prowess this year. In the round of 8, Blaney found his way into the elimination zone, and in Martinsville, a win was his only way in. Stepping up his game, that is exactly what the Penske driver did. Even in the Phoenix race, he started from 17th and climbed his way to P2. No wonder he’s in the top 5 for the most popular driver.

Regardless, Elliott has won the award 8 times, twice in the Xfinity Series and six times in the Cup. 19 wins, three championship-4 appearances in just 9 full seasons are nothing short of impressive. And it’s something about Elliott that makes him a favorite beyond stats. He won last year despite finishing the season winless and in 17th position. Perhaps it’s something in the genes. After all, his father Bill Elliott is the winningest (16) of all time when it comes to the Most Popular Driver Award.

Who do you think will win? Tell us your pick in the comments down below.