Each driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would love to be “NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver”. The reason, this award is voted on by the fans, so it clearly shows how much fans care about the driver they cheer for and holds the true weight of the importance of fans when it comes to NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the award as “NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver” from 2003-2014.
However, what is important to drivers, is also securing sponsorship for funding in order to be able race during the season. Now what do sponsors want? Well, sponsors want to be seen on television, which is why it is so important for a driver to get in front of the camera. What is one of the best ways for the driver to get in front of the camera to talk about and show their sponsor, besides running well on the track and having the broadcast cover? Interviews and network mentions.
Drivers cherish the interviews by the networks, as this is the time when the driver can give plugs and recognition to the sponsors who support their team.
So although Dale Earnhardt Jr. is dubbed as “NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver”, is he the driver who has been interviewed and mentioned the most?
According to Joyce Julius & Associates, through the race broadcasts at Watkins Glen, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not the driver who has been interviewed and mentioned the most. That honor goes to Kevin Harvick, who has been interviewed 35 times, which lasted for twenty nine minutes and six seconds, while compiling 3,558 mentions. Earnhardt Jr. has been interviewed only 24 times, for a total of nineteen minutes and fifty six seconds, compiling 2,281 mentions.
Although Earnhardt Jr., is not interviewed the most does this mean his sponsors do not get their value of sponsorship? Of course not. Any sponsor who teams with Earnhardt Jr. is going to see a positive return on investment because Earnhardt Jr. has his image not only on the track, but is always engaging in activities off the track as well.
