With the Phoenix weekend approaching, the current NASCAR season is on the verge of wrapping up. And along with the champions of all three sport tiers, there is another accolade that is yet to be decided.
The results of NASCAR’s most popular driver this year still lie in fans’ hands, however, as per the current numbers of the accolade, Chase Elliott, who has been a seven-time winner of the title, sits third while Ryan Blaney tops the table.
When fans learnt about this, they showered the Team Penske driver with support and acknowledged what he did for the sport off the track, too.
Who Is Leading NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award Race?
With the ‘NASCAR Most Popular Driver’ award for the current season about to be announced, fans had interesting reactions when they saw who was leading the table. Holding the top spot was Blaney, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain.
The defending champion Elliott sat in third. The fourth and fifth spots on the list were occupied by Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson, respectively.
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For the Xfinity Series, JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier held the top spot while Toni Breidinger topped the chart in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Fans’ Reactions To Ryan Blaney’s Popularity In The Sport
When fans saw Blaney emerge on top of Elliott in the Cup Series, many expressed their happiness and showed their support to the No. 12 driver on X. While praising Blaney, a fan wrote:
“I’m just glad NASCAR is finally realizing that Blaney is the real face of the sport. He has the charisma, he’s hilarious, and he can act his lil butt off. Put him on every screen.”Following this, another fan mentioned Blaney’s involvement in NASCAR activities off the track. He justified why Blaney was better suited for the title than Elliott and wrote:
“Exactly why he [Blaney] deserves to win the Most Popular Driver award over Chase Elliott.He does so much for the sport. He’s always willing to travel on behalf of NASCAR to help promote events – like he did for the Chicago and Mexico race weekends. He also seems to be the only Cup Series driver who consistently gives the checkered flag to a young fan, which I absolutely love. He’s all around a great dude.”
Another fan referred to Blaney’s versatile skills and wrote, “And when I say Ryan is the only NASCAR driver who could pull a Jeff Gordon and host SNL, then what.”
An X user further blasted Elliott as he drew deeper comparisons between him and Blaney. He said: “Always liked blaney over Elliot he actually has personality. Elliot didn’t want to be in the documentary last year and now charges $100 purchase to get an autograph that’s the face of the sport.”
A fan even recalled having met Blaney and wrote, “He also treats you like a human when you ask for a photo or autograph. Unlike another popular driver I’ve met.”
Seeing the fans’ reactions to the most popular driver table, it is evident how well-appreciated Blaney is in the sport. However, despite having the love of the masses, the Team Penske driver failed to qualify in the final four by a narrow margin and ended the team’s Phoenix dominance.