NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award is awarded to the most popular NASCAR driver in the Cup Series, O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, and Craftsman Truck Series every year since 1956. It started as a poll of the drivers and then all NASCAR Cup Series competitors; today, it is voted for by fans across the United States.
The award is presented by the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA). Sponsored by Hamburger Helper in 2010, it was also sponsored by Wheaties in 2011. The ceremony presenting the award is called the NASCAR Awards Banquet, and it is held in Nashville, Tennessee in November of each year.
The winner of the most awards is Bill Elliott with 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series. Justin Allgaier has the most with 6 awards in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, and Johnny Benson Jr. & Hailie Deegan have the most awards at three in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the second-most awards (15) and holds the longest streak, winning the award in 2003 and every year until his retirement in 2017.
Recipients
Cup Series
Year Driver Team Notes 1949 Curtis Turner Hubert Westmoreland, Curtis Turner, Frank Christian Voted on by a panel 1950 Not awarded 1951 1952 Lee Petty Petty Enterprises National award, covering every NASCAR series.Lee Petty won the series championship in 1954. 1953 1954 Petty Enterprises, Gary Drake 1955 Tim Flock Carl Kiekhaefer, Hubert Westmoreland 1956 Curtis Turner Charlie Schwam 1957 Fireball Roberts Pete DePaolo, Fireball Roberts, Dick Beaty, Buck Baker 1958 Glen Wood Wood Brothers Racing 1959 Jack Smith Jack Smith 1960 Rex White Beau Morgan, Rex White, Scotty Cain, L. D. Austin Won the series championship 1961 Joe Weatherly Doc White, Bud Moore Engineering, Elmo Henderson 1962 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises 1963 Fred Lorenzen Holman-Moody, Wood Brothers Racing, Stewart McKinney 1964 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Won the series championship.Won that season's Daytona 500. 1965 Fred Lorenzen Holman-Moody Won that season's Daytona 500. 1966 Darel Dieringer Toy Bolton, Bud Moore Engineering, Petty Enterprises,Reid Shaw, Betty Lilly, Junior Johnson & Associates 1967 Cale Yarborough Wood Brothers Racing, Neil Castles, Bud Moore Engineering 1968 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises 1969 Bobby Isaac Nord Krauskopf 1970 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises 1971 Bobby Allison Bobby Allison, Holman-Moody 1972 Richard Howard 1973 Bobby Allison 1974 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Won the series championship.Won that season's Daytona 500. 1975 Won the season championship. 1976 1977 1978 1979 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing, Rod Osterlund Part time driver 1980 Bobby Allison Bud Moore Engineering 1981 Ranier-Lundy 1982 DiGard Motorsports Won that season's Daytona 500. 1983 Won the series championship 1984 Bill Elliott Melling Racing 1985 Won that season's Daytona 500 1986 1987 Won that season's Daytona 500. 1988 Won the series championship 1989 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Won that season's Daytona 500 1990 Missed six races due to injuries. 1991 Bill Elliott Melling Racing 1992 Junior Johnson & Associates 1993 1994 1995 Bill Elliott Racing 1996 Missed seven races due to injuries. 1997 1998 Missed one race due to the death of his father. 1999 2000 Missed two races due to injuries. 2001 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Awarded posthumously. Perennial winner Bill Elliott withdrew his name from the 2001 ballot to encourage his supporters to posthumously vote for Earnhardt. 2002 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Withdrew his own name from future ballots following this year 2003 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 2004 Won that season's Daytona 500. 2005 2006 2007 2008 Hendrick Motorsports 2009 2010 2011 2012 Missed two races due to injury. 2013 2014 Won that season's Daytona 500. 2015 2016 Missed final 18 races due to injury. 2017 2018 Chase Elliott Won first three career races at Watkins Glen, Dover 2, and Kansas 2. 2019 2020 Won the series championship 2021 2022 Won the regular season championship 2023 Missed seven races, six due to injury and one due to suspension for on-track conduct20242025
O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
Year Driver Team Notes 1982 Jack Ingram Ingram Racing Won the series championship 1983 Sam Ard Thomas Brothers Racing Won the series championship 1984 1985 Jimmy Hensley 1986 Brett Bodine 1987 Jimmy Hensley Sam Ard Racing 1988 Larry Pearson Pearson Racing 1989 Rob Moroso Moroso Racing Won the series championship 1990 Bobby Labonte Labonte Motorsports 1991 Kenny Wallace Rusty Wallace Racing 1992 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Won the series championship 1993 1994 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing 1995 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports 1996 David Green American Equipment Racing 1997 Mike McLaughlin Frank Cicci Racing 1998 Buckshot Jones Buckshot Racing 1999 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Won the series championship 2000 Ron Hornaday Jr. 2001 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Won the series championship 2002 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Won the series championship 2003 Scott Riggs ppc Racing 2004 Martin Truex Jr. Chance 2 Motorsports Won the series championship 2005 2006 Kenny Wallace ppc Racing 2007 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Won the series championship 2008 Brad Keselowski JR Motorsports 2009 2010 Penske Racing Won the series championship 2011 Elliott Sadler Kevin Harvick Incorporated 2012 Danica PatrickJR Motorsports The first female driver to win the Xfinity Series MPD.The first female driver to win the MPD award overall. 2013 Regan Smith 2014 Chase Elliott Won the series championship 2015 2016 Elliott Sadler 2017 2018 2019 Justin Allgaier2020 20212022Noah Gragson2023 Justin Allgaier2024 Won the series championship2025
Craftsman Truck Series
Year Driver Team Notes 1995 Butch Miller Liberty Racing 1996 Jimmy Hensley Grandaddy Racing 1997 Ron Hornaday Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 1998 Stacy Compton Impact Motorsports 1999 Dennis Setzer K Automotive Racing 2000 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Won the series championship 2001 Joe Ruttman Bobby Hamilton Racing 2002 David Starr Spears Motorsports 2003 Brendan Gaughan Orleans Racing 2004 Steve Park 2005 Ron Hornaday Jr. Kevin Harvick Incorporated 2006 Johnny Benson Jr. Bill Davis Racing 2007 2008 Won the series championship 2009 Ricky Carmichael Kevin Harvick Incorporated, Turner Motorsports 2010 Narain Karthikeyan Wyler Racing The first non-American driver to win the award 2011 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Won the series championship 2012 Nelson Piquet Jr. Turner MotorsportsFirst South American winner 2013 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing 2014 Ryan Blaney Brad Keselowski Racing 2015 John Hunter Nemechek SWM-NEMCO Motorsports 2016 Tyler Reddick Brad Keselowski Racing 2017 Chase Briscoe 2018 Noah Gragson Kyle Busch Motorsports 2019 Ross Chastain Niece Motorsports 2020 Zane Smith GMS Racing 2021 Hailie Deegan David Gilliland Racing The first female driver to win the Truck Series MPD.The second female driver to win the MPD overall.20222023 ThorSport Racing2024 Rajah Caruth Spire Motorsports The first African American to win the MPD.2025
Multiple winners Driver Cup Xfinity Truck Mexico Total Bill Elliott 16 0 0 0 16 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 15 1 0 0 16 Chase Elliott* 8 2 0 0 10 Richard Petty 9 0 0 0 9 Bobby Allison 7 0 0 0 7 Justin Allgaier* 0 6 0 0 6 Elliott Sadler 0 4 0 0 4 Lee Petty 3 0 0 0 3 Brad Keselowski* 0 3 0 0 3 Jimmy Hensley 0 2 1 0 3 Ron Hornaday Jr. 0 1 2 0 3 Johnny Benson Jr. 0 0 3 0 3 Kenny Wallace 0 3 0 0 3Hailie Deegan00303 Fred Lorenzen 2 0 0 0 2 Sam Ard 0 2 0 0 2 Joe Nemechek 0 2 0 0 2 Curtis Turner 2 0 0 0 2 Martin Truex Jr. 0 2 0 0 2 Darrell Waltrip 2 0 0 0 2 Greg Biffle 0 1 1 0 2Noah Gragson*01102Rajah Caruth*00202 * – still active
References
External links Sprint Cup Series Xfinity Series Camping World Truck Series Wheaties Fuel Most Popular Driver