The National Motorsports Press Association announced the 2024 Most Popular Driver Awards on Friday evening at the NASCAR Awards Banquet at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Beginning in 2025, Chris Gabehart will serve as Joe Gibbs Racing's Competition Director while Chris Gayle shifts from JGR's No. 54 team to assume Gabehart's position as crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team.
The 25-year-old Herbst from Las Vegas, Nevada, will pilot the No. 35 Toyota sponsored by Monster Energy for his first full-time campaign in NASCAR's premier series and in 23XI Racing's first season fielding three full-time entries.
The Louisville, Kentucky, native transitions to Legacy Motor Club to work as a crew chief for Nemechek and the No. 42 Toyota team after spending the previous three seasons working at Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing.
The 2017 Cup Series champion from Mayetta, New Jersey, led the first nine laps and finished in 17th place in his 693rd and final start as a full-time competitor in NASCAR's premier series at Phoenix.
The two-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led 107 of 312-scheduled laps and fended off teammate Ryan Blaney during a 54-lap dash to the finish to win the 2024 finale at Phoenix and become the 10th competitor overall to reach three championships in NASCAR's premier series.
The 21-year-old Hocevar from Portage, Michigan, notched a career-best third-place run at Watkins Glen International in September, finished in the top 10 six times and settled in 21st place in the final standings to become the first Michigan native to achieve the Cup rookie title in seven years.
The 2017 Cup Series champion from Mayetta, New Jersey, clocked a pole-winning lap at 134.741 mph in 26.718 seconds, which was enough to start on the pole position in his final event as a full-time Cup Series competitor for the 2024 Championship event at Phoenix.
The National Motorsports Press Association upheld Trackhouse Racing's penalties originally levied for violating the Member Code of Conduct section from the NASCAR Rule Book following the team's on-track actions from this past weekend's Playoff event at Martinsville.
