Overview
- NASCAR announced Tuesday at its season-ending awards banquet in Miami that Kyle Busch was voted the 2026 Most Popular Driver, and his widow Samantha Busch accepted the trophy on his behalf.
- Chase Elliott formally withdrew from the fan ballot and urged his fans to vote for Busch, and other drivers including Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar publicly encouraged their followers to back him.
- Samantha Busch delivered an emotional acceptance and told reporters the award was something Kyle had wanted for years, saying the honor mattered most to their children Brexton and Lennix.
- Busch died on May 21 after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis and finished his career with a record 234 wins across NASCAR’s three national series, including two Cup championships.
- The vote makes Busch only the second posthumous winner of the Most Popular Driver honor after Dale Earnhardt in 2001 and is the first Cup winner not named Earnhardt or Elliott since 1990, a result that is reshaping public views of his legacy and concentrating support for his family.