Dale Earnhardt Jr. named 2013 Most Popular Driver

LAS VEGAS - Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS, was named Most Popular Driver during Thursday’s NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon.

This marks a record 11th straight time that NASCAR Sprint Cup fans have voted for Earnhardt to receive the honor.

“We always have such great support from our fans,” Earnhardt said. “They always come through every year, and this year we feel like we were giving them a lot to cheer for on the racetrack and paying them back for all the years they’ve voted for us to win this award.”

With the 11th honor, Earnhardt edges past Bill Elliott, who won the award 10 straight times. But the driver of the No. 88 Chevy SS still has some catching up to do. Elliott won the award 16 times overall.

“I don’t really keep track of the stats or the score,” Earnhardt admitted. “But Bill was a great driver and ambassador for the sport. He represents the sport really well to this day, as does his son Chase who’s coming up and carrying on the family name. But, I’ve always looked up to Bill as a driver so it’s pretty neat.”