Chase Elliott has done it again! Despite an underwhelming Cup Series campaign, the No. 9 driver has reclaimed his crown in a category that he has dominated for years. Last year, the Georgia-native sealed his seventh consecutive Most Popular Driver award by securing 266,363 votes, defeating teammates and rivals such as Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney. And history has repeated itself this time around.

His streak continued with a 17-year run by drivers from HMS, placing the then 29-year-old alongside his father, Bill Elliott, who holds the record with 16 wins of the same award. Fast forward to this year, and the Dawsonville, Georgia, native has shown the chokehold he has on the fans.

Chase Elliott delivers a touching note to fans amid skipping the awards night

As expected, Chase Elliott was elated after winning his eighth consecutive Most Popular Driver award. He said, “Hey, what’s up guys, I just got the news a little bit ago and I just wanted to take a minute and reflect on that some and then also just say a quick thanks. Thank you for the votes. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to do that and support us in that way and support me in that way.”

Elliott couldn’t help but appreciate his fans’ support through the years, he added, “But man, it’s so much more than the votes and I tell a lot of people this that I talk to about it. But just it’s really about the people and the support that I get to see firsthand and I know not everybody has that vantage point or that perspective. But it truly is incredible and every year it blows me away to travel to parts of the country that you would never think that people are that passionate about what we’re doing.”

Elliott earned a commanding 56% of the total fan vote to continue his dominance. The fan favorite Hendrick Motorsports star topped a powerhouse list that also featured Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson. Moreover, this achievement means much more. For an incredible 35 consecutive years, the award has gone to either an Elliott or an Earnhardt, a dynasty unlike anything else in NASCAR history.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver’s 2025 campaign may not have been his strongest, but it certainly showed flashes of championship potential. His summer victory at Atlanta secured an early playoff berth, yet the postseason proved anything but smooth.

A costly DNF at Talladega derailed his momentum, and by the time the series reached Martinsville, Elliott faced a must-win scenario. Despite delivering an impressive third-place finish, it ultimately wasn’t enough to punch a ticket to the Championship 4. But as things stand, it is his approachability and honesty that resonate with the fans.

In the Xfinity ranks, Justin Allgaier kept JR Motorsports’ winning legacy alive, capturing the award once again after briefly losing the streak to Noah Gragson in 2022. The team has now dominated the category every single year since 2012. Over in the Truck Series, rising star Rajah Caruth, 23, claimed the fan-voted honor after a breakout season that saw him celebrate victory at Nashville Superspeedway and finish sixth in the championship standings.

Additionally, veteran broadcaster Mike Joy was also honored with the prestigious Myers Brothers Award, presented by the NMFPA. It was a great day for HMS for other reasons, too.  The No. 9 driver’s teammate, Kyle Larson, stood atop the podium to deliver a speech and collect his award for winning his second NASCAR Cup Series title.

Kyle Larson inherits NASCAR’s secret tradition from Joey Logano

For all the accolades that have followed Kyle Larson since clinching his second NASCAR Cup championship, one of the most meaningful, he says, is one the public will never see. The leather-bound secret champions’ journal is passed quietly from one champion to the next. This offseason, Joey Logano will hand Larson the sport’s most exclusive keepsake, continuing a tradition bond from Jimmie Johnson’s final title run in 2016.

Since then, the book has quietly made its way around the hands of NASCAR royalty, from Truex Jr. to Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and back to Logano, with a private message meant only for the next titleholder’s eyes. Now, Larson joins Logano as the only two-time keeper of the journal, and he can’t wait to speak inside.

Speaking from the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge, the location of Tuesday’s awards ceremonies, Larson said, “I definitely remember bits and pieces of what I wrote in there. Then I don’t remember a ton of what everybody else wrote to the next champion, so I’m just excited to read through the book and then also see what Joey wrote to Ryan, then what Ryan wrote back to Joey, and then now what Joey’s writing back to me. So yeah, it’s just … that’s the most special gift with winning the championship, and it’s just the secrecy behind it, I think, that makes it that much better.”

And as the NASCAR awards reach their conclusion, legacy and tradition take over. Kyle Larson and everyone else in the NASCAR grid can kick their feet up before the 2026 season returns with a bang that may shake up any order that has been maintained so far.