Can anyone dethrone Dale Earnhardt Jr. as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver? Start the voting...

  

  Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won five of these awards (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

 
   DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
   Okay, so who is NASCAR's most popular driver?
   Duh.
   But maybe somebody this season can pull the upset.
   And, hey, just how did Awesome Bill from Dawsonville really win all those votes for so many years after all?
   Good campaigning, I'm sure.
   Well, the Most Popular Driver award voting will be getting underway again, with a few twists:
   Fans can vote once a day, at  http://www.chexmostpopulardriver.com/  .
   Then in September, after the championship chase field is set that Saturday night at Richmond, the 10 drivers with the most votes will be announced as 'finalists,' and their vote totals will be reset to zero. And fans will have to start voting again, over the final 10 events of the season.
   Voting will end Monday Nov. 23 at 11:59 PM CT, and the winner will be announced at the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Luncheon in New York City in December.