Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins 10th consecutive Most Popular Driver Award

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Diet Mt. Dew Chevrolet, stands on stage during NASCAR After The Lap at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 29, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Diet Mt. Dew Chevrolet, stands on stage during NASCAR After The Lap at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on November 29, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won a tenth consecutive NASCAR Most Popular Driver award presented by the National Motorsports Press Association. The award, given annually since 1956, is Earnhardt Jr.’s 10th consecutive honor and was presented to him Thursday during the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Luncheon at The Encore at Wynn in Las Vegas.

“It was an honor to hear that I won this year and am now tied with Bill (Elliott) for 10 in a row,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ve enjoyed this award because it’s a testament to my fans. I appreciate their loyalty and dedication.”

Fans voted from February to September this past year. The top 10 drivers that earned the most votes were then reset to zero. Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart were all finalists who fans voted for during the final 10 weeks of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. After more than 934,000 votes were cast this season, Earnhardt Jr. proved once again to be the fans’ favorite. Completing the voting, in order, were Gordon, Kahne, Stewart, Johnson, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Kenseth and Labonte. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.