CHARLOTTE — An array of special awards were handed out during Friday night’s NASCAR Banquet at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the 2020 series champion, was named the sport’s Most Popular Driver for the seventh consecutive season.
“First and foremost, thank you to the fans,” said Elliott, 28, who won at Texas Motor Speedway this season. “When I look at this award, regardless if I win it or not … I’ve always viewed it as an opportunity to honor and appreciate the legacy my family has set up for me.”
Former Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series champion Biffle was recognized as the National Motorsports Press Ass’n Myers Brothers Award winner. Biffle, an avid pilot, flew rescue missions and dropped supplies to the residents in Western North Carolina following the devastating damage from Hurricane Helene in October.
“I thought, if I didn’t go, who’s going to go,” said Biffle, who said he received 12,000 messages for help and flew supplies into the area for 14 consecutive days after the storm hit.
“I didn’t do anything any different than anyone in this room would have,” Biffle added.
David Wilson, the longtime president of Toyota Racing Development was presented the Bill France Award of Excellence for his contributions to the sport.
Wilson is retiring after leading the Toyota racing effort in NASCAR for 30 years — a tenure that included Toyota’s first Cup Series championship in 2015 and two more in 2017 and 2019.
Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones was named the Comcast Community Champion Award winner for his work in promoting cancer screenings, raising money for breast cancer patients and longtime literacy advocacy, reading books to school children as he travels around the country racing.
The NASCAR Foundation formally announced Judy Simmons, of Axton, Va., as the winner of the prestigious Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Simmons received a $100,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation to her God’s Pit Crew non-profit organization, which provides disaster relief help to families.