It is the 11th consecutive year Earnhardt Jr. has been selected through a vote of the fans, breaking a tie with Bill Elliott for most consecutive awards received. Elliott continues to hold the overall mark, having been named the series' most popular driver 16 times.
"I don't
really keep track of the stats or the score, but Bill was a great driver and
ambassador for the sport," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He represents the
sport really well to this day, as does his son Chase, who's coming up and
carrying on the family name. But, I've always looked up to Bill as a driver so
it's pretty neat."
More than 1
million votes were tallied for 39 eligible drivers from this year's first race
to the last at the site www.MostPopularDriver.com. Fans voted once per day
with Earnhardt Jr. collecting more than 700,000 votes.
The award was
presented to the Hendrick Motorsports driver today during the annual NMPA Myers
Brothers Luncheon, a part of the season-ending Champions Week activities in Las
Vegas.
The final top-10
drivers, in order of votes received were: Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jeff
Gordon, Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Matt
Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Earnhardt Jr. is still honored to receive
the trophy.
"We always
have such great support from our fans," Earnhardt Jr.
said. "They always come through every year, and this year we feel
like we were giving them a lot to cheer for on the race track and paying them
back for all the years they've voted for us to win this award."
The NMPA Most
Popular Driver distinction has been presented every year since 1956. Initially
determined by a poll among drivers taken at season's end, it was later changed
to allow members of the media to determine the winner. Today, race fans from
all over the world make the ultimate decision.
"We
congratulate Dale Earnhardt Jr. for this record-breaking achievement,"
said Kenny Bruce, President of the NMPA. "This is NASCAR fans opportunity
to be heard during Champions Week here in Las Vegas. On behalf of all
those who voted, we thank you and are proud to continue to support the NMPA
NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award."
Your title is a bit misleading.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I too have a jaundiced view of any title based on multiple fan votes (MLB All Stars, Dancing With the Stars, etc), I feel your characterization is a bit harsh. On the other hand, we can all agree that, for what ever reason, Junior's fans are certainly the most motivated.
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