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Champion Kyle Larson finished second and Carson Hocevar third in the fan vote for NASCAR’s 2026 Most Popular Driver award, behind the late Kyle Busch. The National Motorsports Press Association, which runs the fan-voted award, released the Most Popular Driver voting results for the top three in each national series after Tuesday’s NASCAR Awards.
https://x.com/STaranto92/status/2120325264370741426
2026 Most Popular Driver Voting Results
Cup Series
- Kyle Busch
- Kyle Larson
- Carson Hocevar
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
- Justin Allgaier
- Rajah Caruth (runner-up)
- Jesse Love (runner-up)
Craftsman Truck Series
- Layne Riggs
- Brenden Queen (runner-up)
- Kaden Honeycutt (runner-up)
The NMPA did not release vote totals, so the margins aren’t known. The runners-up in the O’Reilly and Truck series were listed together, not in a confirmed order.
Busch Wins After Chase Elliott Steps Aside
Busch, who died in May at 41, won the award for the first time. His widow, Samantha Busch, accepted it in Miami. Chase Elliott, the winner the previous eight years, asked to be removed from the ballot so fans could support Busch. See every Most Popular Driver winner.
Larson and Hocevar Round Out the Top Three
Larson’s runner-up finish caps a season in which he won his third Cup title and his second in a row.
Hocevar’s third-place finish shows the following he has built, even through a season of controversy that ended with Spire Motorsports benching him for the finale. Hocevar had asked his fans to vote for Busch instead of him, saying, “We can try and win it another year.”
Allgaier and Riggs Win in the Other Series
Allgaier, who won his second O’Reilly Series title at Homestead, took the series’ Most Popular Driver award again. He holds the O’Reilly record for Most Popular Driver wins. Riggs won the Truck Series award after finishing second in the Truck standings behind champion Honeycutt.
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