Carson Hocevar just told his fans to stop voting for him. He wants them to vote for the late Kyle Busch instead. This isn’t a game or a marketing stunt. It is a clear signal of respect from a young driver who knows what matters. Hocevar posted on Facebook Friday that voting opened and asked fans to “NOT vote for me. Vote Kyle Busch,” as quoted by EssentiallySports. He could have pulled his name off the ballot entirely like Chase Elliott did. Instead, he chose a harder path. He wants Busch to win it straight up. The people close to Busch told Hocevar that the driver would want a real fan vote, not a gift. That is the kind of integrity we need to see more of.
Chase Elliott made the same call. Before voting commenced, he withdrew from the National Motorsports Press Association contest. Elliott won the award eight straight years from 2018 through 2025. He has the fan base to win it again easily. Yet he stepped aside to pay tribute to Kyle Busch, who died unexpectedly earlier this year. Elliott said he wanted to make sure Busch was the 2026 NMPA Most Popular Driver. His father, Bill Elliott, did something similar back in 2001 after Dale Earnhardt Sr. died. Bill withdrew his name to help Earnhardt. Now Chase is carrying on that family tradition. He told the media at Talladega that he thought his father’s move was a “really cool and admirable nod to, frankly, one of his biggest rivals, right?”
A Tradition of Respect on the Track
This move shows how deep the roots go in NASCAR. The Most Popular Driver Award is the only major honor decided entirely by fans. It has been around since 1953. Legends like Richard Petty and Bobby Allison have won it many times. Kyle Busch never won this award during his career. He said in 2019 that he was “pretty sure I’m never going to win” it. Now his family and friends are fighting to change that. Hocevar isn’t the only one pushing for this. Kyle Larson, Connor Zilisch, and John Hunter Nemechek have all urged fans to vote for Busch. Even Hocevar admitted that his own popularity is real. Larson said Hocevar is “just different and people like different.” Yet Hocevar still put Busch first.
Winning the Right Way
Hocevar knows he has a growing fan base. He won his first Cup Series race at Talladega this April. The win brought him a lot of attention. His agent noted that friends wanted VIP passes and crowds got bigger. Hocevar told CupScene that he signed “a few more autographs” and that the crowds are bigger. He even mentioned there are “a lot more female fans for sure.” But he didn’t let that fame go to his head. He used his platform to push for someone else. That takes guts. Most people would take the easy path and accept the votes. Hocevar and Elliott are showing that character still counts in this sport. Busch died on May 21 at age 41 after severe pneumonia turned into sepsis. He won 63 Cup races and two championships. He deserves this honor. The voting closes at noon ET on Nov. 9. The victor will be revealed on Nov. 10 during the NASCAR Awards in Miami. This is the moment to see if fans will follow the lead of these drivers.