NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Most Popular Driver Award for 15th consecutive season

By Asher Fair | Dec 1, 2017

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 30: NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett (L) and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. share a moment during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series awards at Wynn Las Vegas on November 30, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

Surprise! Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the Most Popular Driver Award for the 15th consecutive NASCAR Cup Series season — and his last.

In perhaps the most non-shocking news of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Most Popular Driver Award, which is decided annually by a fan vote, was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The 43-year-old was the 14-time defending winner of the award coming into his 18th season as a full-time Cup Series driver this past year.

The Most Popular Driver Award that Earnhardt Jr. won is his 15th and final award of the sort. He trails only Bill Elliott, who won 16 Most Popular Driver Awards, in terms of the most Most Popular Driver Awards won over the course of a NASCAR Cup Series career. Having just retired, he won’t quite match or pass Elliott’s mark.

Earnhardt Jr. came into the season as the overwhelming favorite to win the award after having won it in each of the last 14 seasons going all the way back to the 2003 season. When he announced that he would retire at the end of the season in April, he became even more of a lock to win it in his final season.

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This past season, Earnhardt Jr. finished in 21st place in the championship standings after a season during which the key storyline surrounding him was his impending retirement as opposed to his race results. In fact, he had just one top 5 finish throughout the season, a 5th place result in the first race at Texas Motor Speedway in April before he announced that he would retire following the conclusion of the season..

Here is what Earnhardt Jr. had to say about winning his 15th consecutive Most Popular Driver Award in the NASCAR Cup Series.

"“It always comes back to the fans, it really does, and I’ve got to thank them for keeping the train on the track and rolling all these years.“I always tell people all the time, all I wanted to do was be able to pay my bills and be able to race a long time. I’ve always tried to take a lot of pride in taking the sport to new places and introducing it to new people.”"

Next: NASCAR Playoffs: Pros and Cons

Who will take over as NASCAR’s most popular driver in the 2018 season now that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has officially retired from the sport after winning the award in 15 consecutive seasons to close out his career?

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