(WOMR file photo)
What NASCAR driver, do you think has become the face of NASCAR this year?
Many would think that it has to be Dale Earnhardt, Jr., voted the most popular driver in NASCAR for the last ten (10) years in a row. Many might think that, for 2012, it could have been “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski. After all, this young gun wrested the 2012 Sprint Cup championship away from the highly favored “Mr. Five-Time”, Jimmie Johnson! The brothers Busch seemed to garner some of their share of traditional bad press! But even with their notoriously bad behaviors, they still did not receive the majority of press time this season.
According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. — which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast over the last 28 seasons, #48 Jimmie Johnson received the most attention during this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series broadcasts. Statistics reflect all live race telecasts and replays of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season:
| Driver | # of interviews | Interview Time | Mentions |
| Jimmie Johnson | 90 | 1:14:48 | 7,744 |
| Denny Hamlin | 53 | 0:59:25 | 5,219 |
| Brad Keselowski | 69 | 1:06:50 | 5,059 |
| Kyle Busch | 21 | 0:14:24 | 4,840 |
| Jeff Gordon | 58 | 1:01:54 | 4,721 |
| Tony Stewart | 53 | 0:53:13 | 3,854 |
| Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 54 | 0:54:11 | 3,422 |
| Greg Biffle | 27 | 0:22:57 | 3,338 |
| Matt Kenseth | 41 | 0:27:56 | 3,226 |
| Clint Bowyer | 43 | 0:44:00 | 3,131 |
| Kasey Kahne | 33 | 0:34:35 | 3,008 |
| Kevin Harvick | 18 | 0:26:50 | 2,624 |
| Martin Truex, Jr. | 24 | 0:26:15 | 2,444 |
| Carl Edwards | 35 | 0:36:08 | 2,358 |
| Mark Martin | 12 | 0:12:47 | 1,687 |
So there you have it! “Mr. Five-Time”, Jimmie Johnson, received the most interviews (90), the most interview time, and the most mentions, 7,744, during the 2012 race season!
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
