Earnhardt Jr vs Elliott UPDATE: Word has it that the NASCAR Winston Cup Most Popular Driver Award voting has become a two-man race between Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Elliott trailed in the early going in the voting, which is being held online at nascarpopulardriver.com. However, a surge in voting by fans has pushed Elliott into a near-tie with Earnhardt Jr. Nearly 2,000,000 votes are in, and voting continues until Nov. 17.(NASCAR.com Buzz)(9-25-2002) UPDATE: An award that began in 1956 has reached a milestone its founders never envisioned. Sitting just shy of two million total votes, the Grands! Biscuits NMPA NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award has now received more votes in six months than it has in the rest of its history combined. The highest vote total in any single year prior was 400,000 in 2001. In the meantime, 15-time award winner Bill Elliott has made a major jump in the balloting and the battle between him and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is incredibly close. The two are in a virtual dead heat in the balloting. Jeff Gordon is a close third, followed by Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Kyle Petty, Rusty Wallace and Kevin Harvick. NASCAR fans can continue to vote online once per day at www.nascarpopulardriver.com. Voting continues through Nov. 17. The Grands! Biscuits NMPA Most Popular Driver of the Year Award will be presented during the NASCAR Winston Cup Awards Banquet weekend in New York. Several fans have voted at www.nascarpopulardriver.com in record numbers since voting began March 4.(Williams Company PR)(9-27-2002) (9-26-2002)
