Chase Elliott might never match Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR popularity

Chase Elliott is without a doubt the most famous driver in NASCAR, and it was proven yet again with his Most Popular Driver Award win.

Chase Elliott might never match Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR popularity

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliott (Via IMAGO)

The 2024 NASCAR Awards at Charlotte saw Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott being crowned as the Most Popular Driver of the season for an eight season in a row. He is now the racer with the third most popular driver awards behind his father Bill Elliott who won it a record 16 times and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in second with 15 wins.

If things remain the same and Chase Elliott continues to get the support from the legacy fans of the sport, it won’t be long before he secures the record for himself. But even if he does win the award, Elliott might never get recognized as the most popular in history because of the multi-generation fandom Dale Earnhardt Jr. enjoys.

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Both the racers share a similar career path, with them inheriting the fanbase of their hugely successful fathers and building their legacy on it. But despite Chase Elliott being statically the most accomplished racer, he hasn’t been able match the madness of the Junior nation because of the cultural impact he has had.

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Hall of Famer Dale Jr. was the face of the sport when it was at its peak, he was performing on the high level and Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s tragic death also got him a lot of support. In the same time Elliott’s fanbase is mainly the loyal Bill Elliott fans and he is racing is the wrong era in terms of the overall fame of the sport.

Another major factor is the impact Junior has had outside the track with his broadcasting ventures, podcasting, and his appearances in different pop-culture projects, alongside a massive presence on social media. Elliott on the other hand lives a very private life and isn’t much interested in non-racing activities. It will affect the HMS racer’s fame after he retires as there is huge chance that he will just remain off the grid.

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Ex-NASCAR Cup driver Kenny Wallace, who is known for being pretty straightforward with his comments has made a remark on Dale Jr.’s popularity. He pointed out that despite racing in one Xfinity event a year, Junior is the most famous and his broadcasting journey makes him much more popular.

Kenny Wallace
Kenny Wallace (Via IMAGO)

Congratulations to Chase Elliott on NASCAR’s most popular driver. However, if last night don’t tell you how popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. is. Dale Jr. runs one Xfinity race a year. He ran it at Bristol, ran fifth. He is the most popular driver in NASCAR right now and don’t even race. Because he’s got Dirty Mo Media, Dale Jr. Download, runs one race.

Kenny Wallace said via X.

The comments from Wallace are something most in the racing community will agree with. If Chase Elliott plans to leave a legacy bigger than Junior, he has to be more outgoing and more engaged with activities outside racing. It will be interesting to see if the HMS driver would ever attempt to do that before he retires from the sport.

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