NASCAR’s next Most Popular Driver needs to be highly successful
By Asher Fair
While controversial, Kevin Harvick’s recent comments about Dale Earnhardt Jr. illustrate why NASCAR’s next Most Popular Driver needs to be highly successful.
Popularity of athletes in sports is generally driven by success. Kevin Harvick recently made note of this in his recent podcast, using players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry of the NBA and Peyton Manning of the NFL to back up his point. All of those players have won multiple championships and multiple Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in their respective sports, and their success has positively affected their popularity.
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However, what he also made note of was the fact that NASCAR is an exception to this for some reason, as NASCAR’s 14-time defending Most Popular Driver Award winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. has never won a championship in 17 full-time seasons, and he doesn’t look like he will win one this season in his 18th and final attempt, either.
Yet he will still end up being NASCAR’s most popular driver for the 15th consecutive season despite the fact that this season has been arguably his worst ever, as he currently sits in 23rd place in the championship standings as the second-lowest driver among drivers driving for top-tier teams, and he has just one top 5 finish (5th place at Texas) through 22 races so far this season.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s success does anything but warrant the massive amount of popularity he has. NASCAR’s next most popular driver once Earnhardt Jr. retires needs to be one that is highly successful, one that contends for race wins almost every race and is a championship contender on a consistent basis.
Now, inevitably once Earnhardt Jr. retires, there will be a next most popular driver by default simply because he will no longer be racing. But NASCAR needs more than just another driver to take over the role of being the most popular. They need that driver to be one with Dale Jr.-caliber popularity who actually delivers great results nearly every race and competes for championships every season.
That driver may be tough to find given the massive following Earnhardt Jr. has and has had throughout the course of his entire 18-year career. A following of that size will certainly be tough to match.
But like Harvick said, how popular would Earnhardt Jr. had been had he actually won championships and been a regular contender? If NASCAR’s next most popular driver is a driver is a highly successful championship contender, just like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning in their respective, leagues, that will help boost that driver’s popularity in a way Dale Jr.’s never was.
Who do you think NASCAR’s most popular driver will be once Dale Earnhardt Jr. officially retires? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.