Race fans have selected Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver for the ninth consecutive time after casting a total of nearly 1.5 million online votes during the 2011 season.

Dale, Jr. received the largest number of votes and was presented the award at the annual Myers Brothers Luncheon on Thursday in Las Vegas by award sponsor Wheaties FUEL.

"It's a big honor. My fans have been real supportive throughout my career," Earnhardt Jr. said. "This has been a little bit of a turnaround year from the last couple of years, and we want to keep getting better on the racetrack and give our fans what they expect. We've got a lot of momentum going into 2012, and I'm proud to accept this award on behalf of all the fans who voted."

A number of awards were presented during the ceremony including:

Myers Brothers Award: Drs. Joe and Rose Mattioli
NASCAR Foundation Track of the Year Award: Michigan International Speedway
Buddy Shuman Award: Richard Childress
NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award: Toyota
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award: Andy Lally
Growth Energy American Ethanol Green Flag Restart: Matt Kenseth
Coors Light Pole Award: Carl Edwards
Mobil 1 Driver of the Year Award: Tony Stewart
DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Year Award: Bob Osborne
MOOG Chassis Part Problem Solver of the Year Award: Alan Gustafson
O'Reilly Auto Parts Position Improvement Award: Tony Stewart
Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award: Roush Fenway Racing No.99
Mahle Engine Builder of the Year Award: Roush Yates Engines No. 99 (Doug Yates)
Goodyear Gatorback Belts & Hoses Fastest Lap Award: Kyle Busch
Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Tony Stewart
Goodyear Tires Award: Tony Stewart
Champion Sponsor Award: Office Depot and Mobil 1
Champion Crew Chief: Darian Grubb

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