NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 04: Chase Elliott drives during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Burnouts on Broadway on December 04, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 04: Chase Elliott drives during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Burnouts on Broadway on December 04, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Chase Elliott named NMPA Most Popular Driver

Chase Elliott was named the NMPA Most Popular Driver for the second year in a row.

AND: The annual award is determined 100% by fan voting, and Elliott, 24, topped the ballot for the second consecutive year.

There’s a history there, of course. Elliott’s father Bill Elliott won the award a record 16 times, including 10 consecutive years from 1991-2000.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the award 15 times, all consecutively from 2002-17 before his retirement, paving the way for Chase Elliott, who drives the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, as the heir apparent.

All told, the Earnhardt and Elliott families have held the award for 34 total years, nearly all of it consecutively. Only Darrell Waltrip’s back-to-back honors in 1989-90 broke up a run that began in 1984 when Bill Elliott won the award for the first time.

NASCAR.com

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