“He usually wins by quite a bit” - Kyle Larson makes opinion clear on Chase Elliott’s NASCAR popularity

Kyle Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award for the seventh consecutive season following his win in the voting polls. Ahead of Friday’s NASCAR awards ceremony, Larson shared his thoughts on Elliott’s popularity in NASCAR, widely regarded as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver among active drivers.

Speaking to Frontstretch’s Stephen Stumpf about Elliott’s NASCAR popularity, Kyle Larson admitted his teammate's massive fan base while noting his own popularity has grown, bolstered by his diverse racing ventures, such as competing in this year’s Indianapolis 500 for the first time. Larson also mentioned that Elliott tends to win the Most Popular Driver award by a significant margin.

Discussing Chase Elliott’s continued legacy as NASCAR Cup Series fan favorite, Larson, who was runner-up in the voting, said:

“He’s definitely got a large fan base, for sure, in NASCAR. It’s cool to see. I feel like my fan base has grown a lot this year with getting to do everything that I’ve done. We’ll see, but he usually wins by quite a bit. You never know. I think it’s cool to be part of Hendrick Motorsports, having probably the two most popular guys in the sport currently.” [4:43]

According to the results released by the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Elliott received 266,363 votes to beat out Larson and 2023 NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney.

Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott, leads the list of NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award winners with 16 wins.

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“Didn't get the chance to race for a championship”: Kyle Larson reflects on his 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign

Kyle Larson and the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team had an amazing 2024 season. He led the series with the most wins and led the most laps by any driver in the season. He earned six wins, 15 top-5s, and 18 top-10 finishes, leading 1700 laps with an average finish of 12.9 in 36 races.

In the aforementioned interview reviewing his 2024 season, Kyle Larson admitted the final round before the championship race didn’t work out for him, which led to his elimination from the playoffs. He also expressed a balanced perspective despite missing out on the opportunity to race for the championship at Phoenix Raceway.

On highs and lows of the season, Larson said:

“The round of eight just didn't work out for us and, yeah, didn't get the chance to race for a championship. But I don't really look at that as like a low either. I know we had the most successful season. Granted, we didn't get to win a championship.”

“We won a lot more races than everybody else and led a ton of laps and pretty much led every category. So yeah, that was something I'm very proud of and look forward to trying to do even better next year.” [5:28]