Elliott Named Most Popular Driver Again

NEW YORK -- Although Bill Elliott’s only NASCAR title came 14 years ago, fans have made him their perennial champion.

The longtime NASCAR Winston Cup star was informed Friday that he’s been selected as Most Popular Driver Award for the 16th time.

Nobody else comes close. Even King Richard Petty, a seven-time champion, won the award only seven times.

Elliott has won the award so many times, the National Motorsport Press Association, which oversees the voting, will name the award the Bill Elliott Trophy after the 1988 Winston Cup champion retires.

“Everything I do, the fans are so supportive. I’m just so sorry I can’t be there to tell everybody in person how much this means to me,” said Elliott, who was unable to get to New York for the presentation because of inclement weather.

Speaking by telephone from his home in Blairsville, Ga., Elliott added, “The fan base I have is real strong. They support me when I have a bad year or a good year.”

Elliott’s career has revived since he joined car owner Ray Evernham on his start-up team in 2001. He ended a six-year winless period with one victory that year and added two more wins in 2002.

Using the worldwide web, a record 3 1/2 million ballots were counted in the vote sponsored by Grands Biscuits.

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ROOKIE NO MORE: Ryan Newman, who won the 2002 Rookie of the Year Award in a close competition with Jimmie Johnson, said he never really thought of himself as a rookie.

“The bottom line, it’s just a label,” he said as he prepared to accept the award Friday night at the NASCAR Awards Ceremony. “I’m no different than Ricky Rudd or Dale Jarrett or Rusty Wallace. We’re all doing the same job.”

Asked if he is relieved he won’t have to answer questions about being a rookie any more, Newman said, “There will still be a lot of questions, obviously questions about a sophomore jinx or sophomore slump.”

How will he avoid falling into the second-year blues that hit so many top rookies?

“You can’t get lazy and you can’t get cocky or overconfident,” Newman said. “I’m with a great team, and it takes a good driver and a good team to get the consistency you need to be successful. I think we should be championship contenders next year.”

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AWARDS GALORE: Checks and trophies were handed out in bunches Friday as part of NASCAR’s Champion’s Week. Among them:

* NASCAR president Mike Helton was presented the Myers Brothers Award, given each year to an individual or group making an outstanding contribution to the sport. The award is named after NASCAR pioneers Billy and Bobby Myers and presented by the National Motorsports Press Association.

* Stewart won the $76,000 76 Gasoline Champion’s Award, while Jeff Green got $76,000 for the 76 NASCAR Motor Oil Award. They were the highest finishing drivers using that particular product.

* Newman got a $100,000 check for winning the Bud Pole Award. His six poles during the season were the most by any driver.

* Mark Cronquist, the chief engine builder for Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields cars for Stewart and Bobby Labonte, won $77,000 as the Clevite Engine Builder of the Year.

* Jeff Gordon won $75,000 for taking the Gatorade Front Runner Award, given to the driver who leads the most laps.

* The $75,000 Mechanix Wear Pit Crew of the Year Award went to the crew of the No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, driven by Sterling Marlin until he was injured late in the season. The crew is headed by crew chief Lee McCall.

* Kurt Busch, the hottest driver in the Winston Cup Series late in the year, winning three of the last five races, was presented $75,000 for the Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Onion Favorite Driver of the Year Award, voted on a race-by-race basis.

* Matt Kenseth, Busch’s Roush Racing teammate, won the $75,000 Waste Management Picking up Places Award, given to the driver who improves his position the most during the season.