HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Kyle Busch has been named the most popular NASCAR driver of 2026.

Busch posthumously won the National Motorsports Press Association's Most Popular Driver Award in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is the first time won the award. He won the award Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, almost five months after he died at age 41.

Fans voted on the Most Popular Driver Award, which didn't feature eight-time, reigning winner Chase Elliott. He removed himself from the ballot and encouraged people to vote for Busch in honor of the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The people listened. Tuesday, Samantha Busch accepted the award on behalf of her widow and the father of her two children, Brexton and Lennix.

"What makes this award extra special to me is what it gives to Brexton and Lennix. They miss their dad in ways that I can't even begin to explain. And through this, they get to see another side of the dad that they love so much: How he made people feel, how much he meant to others, and just how special he really was. And as their mom, that means everything to me," Samantha Busch said.

Busch won 63 NASCAR Cup Series races, 102 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races and 69 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. He won his final race in May at Dover Motor Speedway, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, just six days before he passed away.

"Take whatever you can get, man. You never know when the last one's going to be so cherish them all," Busch said after that win at Dover.

Throughout his career, Busch was one of the most polarizing drivers in the sport -- similar to another multi-time Cup champion who drove for Richard Childress Racing.

In 2001, Dale Earnhardt also posthumously won the Most Popular Driver Award in Cup after Chase Elliott's father, Bill Elliott, removed himself from the voting. A 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner, Elliott encouraged people to vote for Earnhardt, who died at age 49 in a crash on the final lap of that year's Daytona 500.

After Earnhardt won the Most Popular Driver Award, Elliott won it again in 2002 before Dale Earnhardt Jr. won it every year from 2003 to 2017. Then, Chase Elliott won it from 2018 to 2025 before Busch won in 2026.

In the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, Justin Allgaier won the Most Popular Driver Award. It marks the 15th time in 45 seasons where the champion also won the award. 

In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Layne Riggs won the Most Popular Driver Award. Riggs finished second in the points standings with seven race wins. He claimed the award that Rajah Caruth earned the last two years. Hailie Deegan won the award from 2021 to 2023 after Zane Smith won it in 2020 to kick off the decade.

The last time the Truck champion also won the Most Popular Driver Award was Johnny Benson (Jr.). in 2008.