No surprise -- Junior most popular

Despite a year of personal upheaval and on-track failures, Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains as popular as ever.

Junior was selected the most popular driver for the fifth straight year, drawing more than 1.5 million of the over 3.8 million votes cast online. The award comes after he decided to leave the NASCAR team founded by his late father to join powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports with a new sponsor and a new car number.

"After the year I had statistically and off the track, that isn't the response I expected from my fans," Earnhardt said Thursday in accepting the honor during a luncheon in New York at which numerous awards and hundreds of thousands of dollars were dispensed by NASCAR and its sponsors.

"Next year, I hope to earn more hardware on the track, too."

FRANCE REMEMBERED: The late Bill France Jr., who guided NASCAR into the American mainstream while leading the sport founded by his father, was honored with the National Motorsports Press Association's Myers Brothers Award.

The award, given annually since 1958 in memory of NASCAR pioneers Billy and Bobby Myers, was accepted by France's widow, Betty Jane France.

"This is a great honor," said Mrs. France, whose husband died in June. "Bill was a great leader. He was a man of calculation, common sense and compassion. I know he would have been very proud of this award."

CHAMPIONS REWARDED: Jimmie Johnson, who repeated as Cup champion this year, is expected to collect more than last year's record take of $15,770,125 this week.

The checks began rolling in Thursday, with Johnson collecting $245,000 and a 24-karat gold replica of his No. 48 Chevrolet.

Chad Knaus, Johnson's crew chief, also was rewarded by Chevrolet, which presented him with the keys to a new Corvette.

"Sometimes your dreams come true, but there's nothing wrong with dreaming again," Knaus said.

DAYTONA CAMPAIGN: The Kroger Co. has revved up a marketing campaign with NASCAR for the 50th running of the Feb. 17 Daytona 500. Dozens of grocery items, including Ruffles potato chips, Chips Ahoy! cookies, Banquet frozen dinners and many Kroger-brand products carry Daytona 500 logos.

Kroger isn't sponsoring the big race but will sponsor Daytona 500 Qualifying on Feb. 10.

FORMER INDY PRO CHAMP JOINS ROTH: Roth Racing, the first team to take advantage of the Indy Racing League's new incentive program, has hired 2006 Indy Pro Series champion Jay Howard for the entire 16-race season in 2008. He will join team owner-driver Marty Roth in the new two-car operation. In an effort to draw more participation, the IRL announced a new purse structure in October, guaranteeing at least $1.2 million for each car competing the entire schedule.