Top NASCAR Driver TV Exposure

Despite a third-place standing in the driver’s championship battle and joining a new team this season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands alone in terms of generating television exposure for his sponsoring brands through the first 10 events of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Altogether, Earnhardt’s sponsors amassed $150 million of comparable television exposure value from being associated with the popular driver, some $24 million more than the next driver’s overall sponsorship figure.

According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. — which specializes in measuring the impact of sponsorships across all forms of media — 33 brands appearing on locations such as Earnhardt’s car, uniform and support crew’s uniforms have appeared clear and in-focus for a total of 12 hours, 45 seconds (12:00:45) during television coverage of NASCAR’s first 10 official points races. Additionally, the sponsors have been mentioned by Earnhardt or the announcers 33 times. Exposure value is calculated by comparing the on-screen time and mentions to the estimated cost of a commercial spot during each respective race telecast throughout the season.

Earnhardt’s top sponsors, AMP Energy and National Guard, combined for nearly $78 million of exposure value, or 52% of the total in-broadcast exposure associated with Earnhardt thus far.

Kyle Busch, meanwhile, led all drivers in delivering TV time for the most brands with 59 sponsors appearing in conjunction with the driver. Busch’s sponsors also enjoyed the most verbal recognition as a group, with his backing brands having been mentioned a total of 92 times.

Of the top-10 exposure-producing drivers, four are associated with Chevrolet, while Toyota (three drivers), Ford (two) and Dodge (one) are also represented by the leading drivers. Jimmie Johnson had the single largest contribution to an auto manufacturer, generating $15.2 million of exposure value for Chevrolet.
Top Exposure Producing Drivers (After 10 Races):

Rank/Driver	Number of Brands	Total Sponsor Exposure Time	Sponsor Mentions	Total Comparable Exposure Value
1) Dale Earnhardt Jr.	43	12:00:45	33	$150,123,885
2) Jeff Gordon	52	9:35:39	39	126,436,385
3) Jimmie Johnson	43	11:00:18	30	123,083,430
4) Kyle Busch	59	8:54:49	92	116,043,930
5) Carl Edwards	58	10:30:44	68	110,463,195
6) Tony Stewart	47	6:36:13	34	84,668,695
7) Ryan Newman	34	4:25:31	39	80,175,895
8) Denny Hamlin	42	6:13:36	40	79,833,540
9) Matt Kenseth	48	5:42:52	17	73,154,105
10) Kevin Harvick	44	5:58:21	15	62,653,780

Note: Number of Brands refers to the number of unique sponsoring entities monitored in association with each respective driver. Exposure received by brands monitored in association with more than one driver is credited to the driver/crew from whom the identity originated.