Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver 15 years in a row from 2003-17, knows a thing or two about how to win the award.
That’s usually how it works when … you win something 15 (!!!) years in a row. If I did something 15 times in a row, I would assume I’d be pretty darn good at it by the fourth or fifth year. At least by the tenth. Lord knows I’d be unstoppable come Year 15.
Anyway, Junior retired after the 2017 Cup season, officially handing the reins over to Chase Elliott, who has won the award every year for the past decade. He’s pretty good, too, but not quite up to Junior’s level … yet.
As for Dale, he’s now a car owner, and, more importantly, an Internet security guard when it comes to all things NASCAR.
He’s not afraid to get down in the trenches when someone gets a little sassy, and that’s exactly what happened this week when one fan got a little mouthy about this year’s race for most popular driver.
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The discussion centered around Carson Hocevar — who recently won his first career Cup race at Talladega — and whether he could realistically unseat Elliott if he had the backing of YouTuber-turned-ARCA-star, Cleetus McFarland.
Take a look:
NASCAR’s most popular driver is pretty locked in on two families
Dale: “Cleatus would have to campaign on social daily to make it competitive.”
Internet troll: “You don’t know that. You’re just dismissing him and it’s clear the disrespect you have based on the way you spelled Cleetus wrong on purpose. I’ll reiterate that u don’t know bc the numbers ain’t released publicly.”
Dale: “I won it 15 times and have a pretty solid understanding of how it works.”
Game, set, match. Forget the checkered … wave the white flag! It’s over. Another win for an Earnhardt, this time in 2026.
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Again, Dale Jr. won the award 15 times. In fact, the history of NASCAR’s most popular driver is actually quite insane. Since the 1980s, it’s been dominated by either an Earnhardt or an Elliott. That’s pretty much it.
Bill Elliott won the award a record 16 times (84-88, 91-2000, 2002). Dale Earnhardt won it in 2001, the same year he tragically died in the Daytona 500. Elliott won it once more the following year, and then Earnhardt Jr. locked it down for the next 15 seasons.
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So, yes — Dale Jr. knows a thing or two about how to win. No, he probably didn’t have to do much campaigning on social media, as he suggests, back in the day. Partly because social media didn’t really exist when he drove, and partly because he’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he was always going to win the award as long as he drove.
BUT, he’s now a car owner. He’s been in the sport for a decade post-retirement, and knows how it works. In fact, a JR Motorsports driver has won the award every year since 2012 down in the Xfinity Series.
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So, yes, Dale knows how to win this award. If he says Carson Hocevar needs to campaign daily for the next seven months to win it, I’d listen. Or don’t.
Personally, I don’t think another driver wins until Chase Elliott retires, anyway.
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