The emotional fallout from Kyle Busch’s passing continues to affect the garage. Yet, despite this burdensome moment, Chase Elliott has now emerged with one of the strongest tributes for him yet.

Despite Busch being one of the most polarizing figures within NASCAR, Elliott fully supports Busch and wants him to win the Most Popular Driver award for all he did for the sport.

Speaking emotionally, Elliott said, “Yeah, I would be in extreme favor of Kyle winning the award.” The driver then reflected on Busch’s complicated relationship with motorsport fans over the years.

“He’s a guy that has certainly poured a lot of his life into this sport,” Elliott explained. “And although he might have been getting booed a lot of weeks, he also had a lot of fans and a lot of really passionate fans.”

The emotional weight of losing Kyle Busch, however, was just beginning to hit the Hendrick Motorsports driver. “So I really hadn’t processed all of that, I guess, to get to that point,” Elliott confessed.

“But I would certainly be in favor of him winning whatever it took.”

Elliott ended with perhaps the sweetest and most heartfelt support for the late driver, “Yeah, I think it’d be really, really deserving to have that honor.”

However, an outstanding question remains: What is this award that Elliott wants to grace Busch with? And what’s the story behind it?

NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award explained

The NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award is an honor that few achieve, yet many talk about. It is annually presented by the National Motorsports Press Association. Greatly, it is not decided by performance on track, but rather by fans as to who they see as their favorite.

Legends such as Bill Elliott have won it 16 times, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning it for 15 years, and then Chase Elliott carrying his father’s legacy forward.

What makes this award special, other than the sponsorship value and merchandise sales that it provides, is that here, fans alone decide the winner. It's heavily anchored by these two families over decades.

Thus, bridging the gap between screen and track, making it the ultimate symbol of emotional connection and widespread popularity, which in turn would also make it a perfect tribute to someone like Kyle Busch, who was loved by fans throughout the sport alike.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Uday Jakhar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason