NASCAR: Voting begins for completely predictable award

Voting for the Most Popular Driver of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is open from now through the end of November, with Chase Elliott probably set to be announced as the winner in early December.

Voting for the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award presented by Hooters for the 2022 NASCAR season opened up at 12:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 8, and it is set to run through 12:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 30.

Fans can vote for a single driver once daily at www.nascar.com/mostpopulardriver or on the NASCAR Mobile app, and votes shared by fans on Facebook and/or Twitter count for two votes. To vote, fans must enter their first name, last name, and email address, and they must agree to the Official Rules, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.

The winner is set to be announced during the NASCAR Cup Series Awards program on Thursday, December 1 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

In other words, four-time reigning Most Popular Driver Award winner Chase Elliott is likely closing in on winning the award for a fifth consecutive year.

Elliott has won the award every year since Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from full-time Cup Series competition.

Dale Jr. owns the all-time record for most consecutive Most Popular Driver Award wins, having won it for 15 consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2017.

Bill Elliott, Chase’s father, owns the all-time record for total Most Popular Driver Award wins, having won it 16 times. He won it every year from 1984 to 1988 and every year from 1991 to 2000 before winning it for the 16th and final time in 2002.

Hooters, the presenting sponsor of the award, is also a longtime sponsor of Elliott, having sponsored the #9 Chevrolet since 2018 (and his #24 Chevrolet in 2017).

Elliott, who is one of eight drivers to have been named the sport’s Most Popular Driver since the honor was first awarded after NASCAR’s inaugural season back in 1949, is the only driver to qualify for the Championship 4 in each of the last three seasons.

The 2020 champion came up short this year, finishing behind Team Penske’s Joey Logano, Trackhouse Racing Team’s Ross Chastain, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway this past Sunday afternoon.

Additionally, you can vote for the Most Popular Driver of the Xfinity Series and the Most Popular Driver of the Truck Series. The winners are also set to be announced on Thursday, December 1.