Kyle Busch is the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver. He joins Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to win the award posthumously. His wife, Samantha Busch, accepted it for him at the NASCAR Awards banquet in Miami.

Busch died on May 21 of this year at age 41. The award ends a run by Chase Elliott, who won it every year from 2018 through 2025 but withdrew his name this season and urged his fans to vote for Busch.

A goal Busch chased in life

On the red carpet, Samantha Busch said her husband badly wanted this award while he was alive. "Winning the Most Popular Driver award, he wanted it so bad," she said.

She described how he tried to rally fans. One year, she recalled, he did not see Elliott at the event, or thought Elliott might not have come, and felt sure he had it. He did not win. She said he then called NASCAR to ask for the numbers, wanting to know how far off he was and whether he was close. "Kyle was very competitive, and he took this no differently," she said.

The speech on stage

Later that night, Samantha Busch took the stage. She began by congratulating Kyle Larson and his wife, Katelyn, on their championship and thanking them for what they have done for the Busch family.

She said the sport has shown Kyle Busch a great deal of love over the past several months and that she wished he could see it. She described him as passionate, outspoken and fiercely competitive, and said he never changed who he was to win people over. "He was Rowdy through and through," she said. She added that whether people cheered or booed him, he gave them something to make noise about, and he loved that.

She thanked Elliott and the other drivers who encouraged their fans to vote for him, saying respect from the drivers he raced against means a great deal. She also spoke to the fans directly. In her telling, he loved packed grandstands, meeting families and watching kids light up when he signed an autograph. She said he never took for granted that fans spent their money and time watching him race.

She closed with a line about his nickname: "There was no Rowdy without the fans, and there will never be another Rowdy because there is truly no one else like Kyle."

What it means

The award carries a personal meaning for his family. Samantha Busch said it gives their son, Brexton, and daughter, Lennix, a look at another side of their father: how he made people feel and how much he meant to others. She said the children miss him in ways she cannot explain.

The result also reflects how drivers and fans came together after his death. Elliott's decision to step aside after eight straight wins, and the encouragement from other drivers, was singled out in her remarks. She said seeing that passion unite people in his honor had been incredible.

For a driver known for drawing loud reactions in both directions, the award is a lasting acknowledgment from the sport's fans. It is one he had wanted, and one his family now holds for him.