Voting for the 2026 National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award has opened Friday, Oct. 23, 2026.
Voting will remain open until Monday, Nov. 9, 2026 at noon E.T. The winner will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 10 during the annual NASCAR Awards Ceremonies in Miami, Florida.
Fans can vote for one driver per ballot submission with voting being limited to five submissions per day, per email at NASCAR.com/mostpopulardriver or on the NASCAR Mobile App. The five votes per day aren’t limited to a single driver.
To be eligible for the award, a driver must have declared for NASCAR Cup Series points and been eligible for championship contention during the 2026 season.
The award was first presented to Curtis Turner in 1949 after NASCAR’s inaugural Strictly Stock (now Cup Series) season. It has been administered by the NMPA and presented annually by the organization since 1983. It remains the only major NASCAR award determined solely by the fan vote.
NMPA Hall of Famer and 1988 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bill Elliott holds the record for Most Popular Driver awards with 16: 1984-88, 1991-2000 and 2002. Fellow NMPA Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the award for 15 consecutive seasons from 2003-2017.
Current NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott has received the honor for the past seven seasons, but has withdrawn his name from consideration this year.
Founded in 1965, the NMPA consists of qualified media members who report on the sport of auto racing through affiliations with print, radio, television and/or internet news-gathering organizations. In addition to the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award, the NPMA presents an array of significant honors in auto racing, including the Richard Petty Driver of the Year Award, the Myers Brothers Award, The NMPA Pocono Spirit Award and the Wood Brothers Award of Excellence.
Additional information about the NMPA can be found at www.nmpaonline.com.