Dale Earnhardt Jr. Shuts Down Fan Doubting Chase Elliott's Grip on NASCAR Popularity Award

Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver for 15 straight years from 2003 to 2017, dismissed a fan's claim this week that Carson Hocevar could unseat Chase Elliott in the race for the award.

Earnhardt retired after the 2017 Cup season. Chase Elliott took over and has won the award every year for the past decade. Earnhardt now owns cars and keeps a close eye on NASCAR matters online.

The spat started when a fan suggested YouTuber-turned-ARCA driver Cleetus McFarland could help Hocevar, who just won his first Cup race at Talladega, beat Elliott. Earnhardt replied, "Cleatus would have to campaign on social daily to make it competitive."

The fan shot back: "You don’t know that. You’re just dismissing him and it’s clear the disrespect you have based on the way you spelled Cleetus wrong on purpose. I’ll reiterate that u don’t know bc the numbers ain’t released publicly."

Earnhardt responded, "I won it 15 times and have a pretty solid understanding of how it works."

Earnhardt's father, Dale Earnhardt, won the award in 2001, the year he died in the Daytona 500. Bill Elliott holds the record with 16 wins from 1984 to 1988, 1991 to 2000 and 2002. Earnhardt Jr. then claimed it for the next 15 seasons.

Earnhardt did not need much social media push in his driving days. Social platforms barely existed then, and his family name carried weight. As a car owner for a decade since retiring, he stays involved. A JR Motorsports driver has won the equivalent Xfinity Series award every year since 2012.