The Lucky Dog Presents NASCAR Fans’ Choice Awards

^{Feb 16, 2025 | Edition #138}

👋 Dear Motorhead,

As promised, we’re here with a special edition!
But before we kick things off, we’d like to thank you for being equally stoked about this as us. The engagement we got on our recent polls was incredible, and all of it just fuels us to do more stuff like this. 

Now, coming to what we’d like to call ‘NASCAR Fans’ Choice Awards’, we got our expected winners, and some major surprises (we're looking at you, Nemechek!).
Anyway, enough chit-chat. You're here for the good stuff. So, let's dive in and see who took the top spots!

The Next Modern-Era Driver to Enter Hall of Fame

Since we got the inspiration for these from the HoF inductions, why not have the first award along the same lines? So this award goes to... Tony Stewart! (Cue awkward music) Well, turns out, we made one of those award show blunders with this one! While we made Stewart a nominee, he is already a Hall of Famer (class of 2020, yay!), so we're giving the award to the runner-up, Martin Truex Jr.

With almost 700 starts, 34 wins, and a Cup title in 2017, MTJ's got the stats to make your head spin. Oh, and let's not forget those two consecutive Xfinity titles in 2004 and 2005. The man's a racing rockstar! And, fun fact: he's the record holder for most laps led at the Coca-Cola 600. Take a look at that epic moment!

So, here's to MTJ. May his final season be a distant memory, and may he cruise into the Class of 2027 NASCAR Hall of Fame (as he needs to be retired for at least 2 years) in style!

The Most Popular NASCAR Driver
(According to You All)

Well, there was a lot of debate when Chase Elliott won the MPD award again last year. So just to see it all unfold once again (and check if the results would differ), the Lucky Dog asked you all the same question. And well, it is settled. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is the deserving winner.

Okay, we know 2023 was a bit of a snooze fest, but who doesn't love a good comeback story? And boy, did Elliott deliver in 2024! Now, he's off to a blazing start, winning at Bowman Gray and eyeing that elusive Daytona 500 title. And if he keeps this up, we'll just go ahead and reserve that 8th consecutive MPD award for him in 2025.

The Biggest Wreck Magnet in NASCAR

If you are a Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club fan, you might wanna skip this one. Because the winner of this category is John Hunter Nemechek.

After a brief Xfinity stint, Nemechek returned to the Cup, and, well... let's just say it's been a bumpy ride.

Atlanta? Check! Spun out on his own and kissed the wall. Chicago Street Circuit? You bet! His car went airborne after meeting the wall. Here’s that crazy moment! And who can forget Pocono? 

Fast forward to 2025, and it seems Nemechek's wreck magnetism is still in full effect, as Ryan Preece "helped" him find the wall at Bowman Gray. But fingers crossed he survives the Daytona 500 weekend without any more, ahem, "exciting" moments!

Most Popular NASCAR Crew Chief

Time to give it up for the unsung heroes of NASCAR - the crew chiefs! And this one’s going to the king of the pit, Rodney Childers!

This guy's a genius, folks! He won a championship with Kevin Harvick, and now he's getting Justin Haley into shape at Spire Motorsports. Okay, so the Duel didn't exactly go as planned (thanks, Chandler Smith!), but Childers has a knack for winning the big ones with underdogs. Remember that crazy Coca-Cola 600 win with David Reutimann starting P21?  If not, here is the team’s celebration of that win, which was just as wild!

Now, Childers has his sights set on the Daytona 500 - the only crown jewel missing from his trophy case. And with his history of winning from bad qualifying spots, starting P35 will be no problem!

The Best Victory Celebration in NASCAR

While There’s no confirmation on when Carl Edwards will be coming back to the track, we can say for certain that his celebration is not gonna be topped any time soon! 

It's been 8 years, folks. 8 long years since we saw that flip. It was after he shoved Kyle Busch out of the way at the 2016 Richmond race, took the checkered flag, climbed the window pane, and made it stick! Here's the video of the whole sequence.

That year, he did win again at Texas. But NASCAR took its sweet time announcing the winner. So the moment had passed and Edwards skipped the backflip. But if you’re also a fan, NASCAR made a compilation of them all. Check it out! 

This celebration will always be legendary! And if you read our recent edition, you know the story of how this celebration got started.

Fans’ Favorite NASCAR Team Owner

Your love for Rick Hendrick was clear with this one. He got four times more votes than Coach Gibbs, in number two. But before he was the big cheese at HMS, did you know Rick Hendrick was just a young buck trying to make it as a driver? Here, we dug up some rare footage of his Cup debut.

Seriously though, who would have imagined a guy running a team of boat drag racing would build NASCAR's winningest teams?

And we know Penske has kind of overshadowed the next-gen era but 2025 might be HMS’s year. The "Thrive in 25" tagline seems to be working with Elliott winning the first race. Maybe William Byron can make it 2 for 2 at the 500. There are high hopes as he's starting P5!

Most Likely to Win the 2025 Cup Title

You all voted Kyle Larson for 2025 champ, and we’re on board! The guy's due for his second title, especially after a 2024 season that saw him rack up six wins and lead the most laps (but still managed to finish sixth... thanks, playoff format and Joey Logano’s luck).

Larson's got his work cut out for him, though. He's going for the double (again), and this time, he can't afford to miss the 600. One misstep, and all those precious playoff points go poof! Consistency won't cut it, either - he needs top finishes, wins, and a serious Superspeedway game face.

And let's not forget the competition: Hamlin's hungry for his first title, 23XI Racing is itching for a championship, Trackhouse is looking fierce with SVG, and Penske's gunning for their fourth straight title. It's gonna be wild!

Your Favorite NASCAR Veteran in the Booth

How can we hand out awards and not have Dale Earnhardt Jr as a winner?

Amazon putting Junior in the booth alongside Adam Alexander and Steve Letarte is a stroke of brilliance! And let's be real, Junior's no rookie when it comes to calling races. Who can forget his epic "SLIDE JOB!!!" commentary? See this clip from inside the booth! It's hilarious.

Let's hope to get some of that madness in those 10 races Junior is calling this season. And we know a lot of you are looking forward to that too!

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