LAS VEGAS — Dale Earnhardt Jr. was named the NMPA Sprint Most Popular Driver for the 14th consecutive season during Friday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel.
Earnhardt, who won the award for the first time in 2003 and has won the award in every year of Sprint/Nextel’s partnership with NASCAR, competed in 18 races this season before being sidelined following the Kentucky Speedway event on July 9 with concussion-like symptoms stemming from a crash at Michigan Int’l Speedway in June.
The 42-year-old’s most-recent Sprint Cup victory came in November of 2015 at Phoenix Int’l Raceway, and he scored a best season finish of second four times this year, at Atlanta, Texas, Bristol and Pocono.
“That’s pretty cool,” Earnhardt said during his acceptance speech. “This year was a difficult year for us and for our team. I’ve been going through a lot of rehab and recovery. You think you know just how incredible the NASCAR fans are and how supportive they are … but when you go through recovery from an injury, or maybe the loss of a loved one, you get to the core of what’s great about our fan base.”
“I want to thank the fans for all of their support and all of their well wishes. It really motivated me to get healthy and it also motivated me to come back. I’m looking forward to next year.”
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as both the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series and the co-track announcer at Millbridge Speedway.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
Follow RCO on Twitter: @RaceChaserNews
