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NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, Truck Series Most Popular Drivers Revealed

Toby Christie|
Chase Elliott was named the NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver for the eighth consecutive season in 2025.
Chase Elliott was named the NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver for the eighth consecutive season in 2025. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The NASCAR Awards Banquet took place on Tuesday night in Scottsdale, Arizona, following this past weekend's NASCAR Championship Week festivities at Phoenix Raceway. The champions of the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series were honored in Tuesday night's ceremony, as were the winners of various awards for the 2025 season.

As always, one of the most anticipated awards handed out was the Most Popular Driver award in each of the three NASCAR National Series.

By now, it should come as no surprise, but Chase Elliott, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, was named the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2025 season. This marks the eighth consecutive season that Elliott has been honored with the prestigious award, and it's the 24th time the award has gone to a member of the Elliott family.

After receving the award, Elliott issued a sincere thank you to his loyal fanbase.

“Thank you for the votes. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to do that and support us in that way and support me in that way,” Elliott said. “But it’s so much more than the votes. I tell a lot of people this that I talk to about it, that it’s really about the people and the support that I get to see first-hand. I know not everybody has that vantage point or that perspective, but it truly is incredible and every year it blows me away to travel to parts of the country that you would never think that people are that passionate about what we’re doing. I just want to make sure everyone understands that I’m forever grateful for that, whether we win the award or don’t win the award. I think I have some of the best fans in the world and really appreciate you guys supporting me and pushing us and wanting the best for our team and being there on the good days and the bad.”

Chase's father, Bill Elliott, was a 16-time NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver Award recipient.

The elder Elliott's longest consecutive streak of MPD awards was a 10-year run from 1991 to 2000. The younger Elliott needs to take home the award in each of the next two seasons to match his NASCAR Hall of Famer father. The all-time record for most consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver Awards was 15 consecutive, achieved by Dale Earnhardt Jr. from 2003 to 2017.

The native of Dawsonville, GA, had a solid season this year as he picked up wins at Atlanta and Kansas on his path to an eighth-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings.

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it was Justin Allgaier, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, who took home the honor of being the NMPA Most Popular Driver.

This marks the sixth time Allgaier has taken home the award, and it is the third consecutive year that the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion has been named Most Popular in NASCAR's second-tier series.

The native of Riverton, IL, racked up three victories this season, to bring his career total to 28, and he finished the season third in the championship standings.

Rounding things out, Rajah Caruth, the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado, took home his second consecutive NMPA Most Popular Driver Award in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Caruth had a win at Nashville Superspeedway and finished sixth in the series championship standings this season.

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Toby Christie
TOBY CHRISTIE

Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.

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