Chase Elliott has done it again. The Hendrick Motorsports star won the Most Popular Driver Award for the seventh year in a row, a rare positive in what has otherwise been a lackluster season. The No. 9 Chevy racer finished seventh in the driver standings, with just one victory at Texas Motor Speedway during the regular season. However, that doesn’t seem to have affected his popularity, as he secured 266,363 votes, beating teammate Kyle Larson and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.

Ironically, fans didn’t take Elliott’s MPD Award dominance too well. Resorting to social media, many expressed their unhappiness at the outcome, believing that more deserving candidates should have been the recipients of the accolade. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott’s appearance at the 2024 NASCAR Awards with a former girlfriend also resulted in plenty of speculation.

Chase Elliott has a legacy to live up to

Chase Elliott has big shoes to fill. Despite winning his seventh Most Popular Driver Award, the 28-year-old remains one behind Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, while his father, Bill Elliott, holds the record with 16 victories. Even though the accolade may seem inconsequential to some, the MPD Award is an important one for the Georgia native and his family, who have a legacy to maintain, given their history with this particular recognition. Perhaps that’s the reason the Hendrick Motorsports driver continues to hold it in high regard and refuses to take his popularity amongst fans for granted.

Revealing what the award means to him, Chase Elliott candidly said, “It’s always extremely meaningful. It’s always been a reflection of, there’s way more to this story than just me and the award in my opinion. I’ve always taken the opportunity to make sure I reflect that in a proper manner, represent my family the way I think they would want to be represented over the years. I hope that I’ve done that.” The No. 9 Chevy driver went on to say, “I never take that for granted, regardless of which way the award goes. Appreciative of my fans, people who want to genuinely see us do well.”

Chase Elliott was in attendance at the 2024 NASCAR Awards with Ashley Anderson. According to unconfirmed reports, this was the pair’s first public appearance after they parted ways earlier this year. As expected, speculation was rife on social media about their relationship being rekindled once again after fans saw the couple together. According to rumors, Elliott and Anderson were friends long before being in a relationship, having grown up in the same area, but began dating after the Hendrick Motorsports driver parted ways with ex-girlfriend Kaylie Greene.

Meanwhile, Elliott’s colleagues in the Cup Series are clueless about what needs to be done to snatch the MPD Award away from the 28-year-old racing driver. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who finished the year second in the standings, said, “I don’t know what it would take to beat him” while 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick said, “It always seems like it is Chase’s award to lose.” However, despite his immense popularity, not everyone was happy at the Georgia native securing yet another Most Popular Driver accolade and took to social media to express their views.

NASCAR fans unimpressed by Elliott’s MPD triumph

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Fans were livid at the fact that Chase Elliott won the award yet again, claiming his contributions to the sport are nowhere near what they should be. On that note, one X user wrote, “This guy does nothing to promote the sport in the slightest and has the personality of drywall. how does he keep winning these things?” Lamenting his personality as well, another fan added, “Should be ‘And the award for best monotone driver while watching paint dry is!’”

Elliott’s popularity was at an all-time high when he won the 2020 Cup Series Championship, but since then, fans feel there are more deserving winners of this award. The 2021 and 2023 Champions (Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney) were mentioned as deserving recipients by one fan who said, “Literally the last person I think of when I hear nascar. Blaney or larson should of got it. At the least”

Being popular is often associated with being in the public eye more often than not. Chase Elliott is just about the opposite of that, with one fan claiming he is virtually hidden amongst NASCAR circles, saying, “What’s funny is that NASCAR’s “most popular driver” is a virtual recluse.” With Elliott’s father having the most awards of all time in this category, it is no surprise some fans feel the award is pre-decided in the HMS #9’s favor, saying, “Yeah it’s rigged”

What are your thoughts about Chase Elliott’s seventh MPD award? Let us know in the comments!