“If anyone has a chance, it’s them”: Tyler Reddick perfectly clear about the contenders of Chase Elliott’s prestigious NASCAR Award

Tyler Reddick shared his thoughts on Chase Elliott consistently winning the Most Popular Driver award. While Reddick believes Elliott is a tough nut to crack, he cited Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney as possible contenders for the prestigious award.

For the uninitiated, Elliott has won the Most Popular Driver award since the 2018 season after previous title holder Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired. The seven-time MPD winner (Cup Series) follows in the footsteps of his father, Bill Elliott, who earned the award 16 times, the most in Cup history.

In a report by Sportsnaut, Reddick argued there is a chance to dethrone Elliott from winning the award.

“When you’re at the race track, I always think, hey maybe there’s a chance,” Reddick said.

He added that Larson and Blaney are the frontrunners to become the next Most Popular Driver recipient, saying:

“I don’t know though. If anyone has a chance, it’s Kyle and Ryan but right now, it’s Chase’s award to lose.”

Ryan Blaney (left) and Kyle Larson (right) - Source: Imagn

Larson and Blaney are reportedly part of the top five finalists to win the award alongside Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch.

However, Reddick believes there is a status quo in the sport. The top MPD awardees come from two families, the Earnhardts and Elliotts. The former has combined 17 MPD awards, while the latter has won 25 times.

As a side note, the numbers included MPD awards won in the Xfinity Series.

Bill Elliott (left) and Chase Elliott (right) - Source: Imagn

While Chase Elliott has a chance to beat his father's record, the No. 8 Chevrolet driver doesn't see it as a competition. He said Bill Elliott made him understand the responsibility of hailing the title and making at least one fan's day at a time.

---

Chase Elliott reacted to winning his seventh Most Popular Driver award

During this year's Awards Banquet, Chase Elliott received his seventh Most Popular Driver award in the NASCAR Cup Series. He spoke about winning the award with the foundation laid by his family in the sport.

Elliott said via Bob Pockrass on X:

“If you do have the honor to receive the award, I think it’s just representing that the right way, and by right way I mean by the way I think they would want to be represented. Really for me, that’s all I care about because they laid the foundation for me to be here and to have some of the opportunities that I’ve had throughout my career.

The Dawsonville native thanked the fans and vowed to make them proud in the coming years.

“Certainly grateful for the fans across the board, they’ve been great to me throughout my career. I’ve had the fortunate experience of seeing all that, living all that first hand, it means a lot to me, I’ll never take it for granted. Certainly, I want to try to make those people proud as we move into the next year and beyond.”

George Elliott spearheaded the Elliott racing family when he ran a NASCAR team around the 70s. His son, Bill, competed in the premier series and won the 1988 championship title.

Now, Chase Elliott is carrying on the legacy. So far, the 29-year-old driver has won the 2020 championship and 19 Cup races.