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Chase Elliott Removes Bid For Ninth Consecutive Most Popular Driver Award, Encourages Fans To Vote For Kyle Busch

by racerx55 October 24, 2026 0 comments

Story By Patricia McCormack/TheFourthTurn.com

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott pulled his nomination for a ninth consecutive Most Popular Driver Award, urging fans to vote for Kyle Busch who passed away suddenly back in May.

Elliott is taking a page out of his father’s book as Bill Elliott did the same back in 2001 after the racing industry lost Dale Earnhardt Sr. Elliott, who was only five-years-old when Earnhardt passed away, was too young to understand what his dad was trying to do.

“When Dale (Earnhardt, Sr.) passed away in the early 2000s, dad removed his name,” said Elliott. “I was a young child, but looking back on that, I just always thought it was a really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals.”

Elliott, along with many other competitors, are urging fans to vote for Kyle Busch instead of themselves.

Carson Hocevar also wanted to remove his name from the list but ultimately chose to keep his eligibility but urges his fans to vote for Busch instead. 

“I’d be very disappointed if they voted for me” stated Carson Hocevar referring to his fan base.

Busch had a unique personality and was respected by every driver that raced against him.

“Anybody my age and probably a little younger that were coming along at that point in time and got to see his dominance; I mean, if somebody sits there and tells you that they didn’t want to be like that in some way, shape or form, they are lying to your face.” said Elliott. 

Going into Talladega, Elliott will look to not only win himself, but also holds the task of helping his teammates both at Hendrick Motorsports and at Team Chevy. His teammate Kyle Larson is currently the NASCAR Cup Series points leader.

Elliott said, “The best way we can help him (Larson)is no different than last week or next week and that’s to be competitive.”

The YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will broadcast live on NBC at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Photo Credit: Mitchell White/TheFourthTurn.com