Spinning the plummeting Daytona TV ratings

The one benefit of two lengthy track repair delays during last week's Daytona 500 was the unique opportunity for Fox to conduct interviews with an unprecedented 27 of the 43 drivers, and 10 crew chiefs. According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. – which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast since the mid-1980s – by the time Fox signed off Sunday night from Daytona, a total of 46 separate driver interviews had been conducted, lasting a cumulative 46 minutes, 48 seconds (46:48).

Never far from the attention of the Fox crew, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s three interview segments ran for a total of 4:53 to lead all drivers. As a result, Earnhardt's primary sponsor AMP Energy accumulated the most verbal mentions during the telecast with 10. When comparing the verbal exposure to the cost of a 30-second commercial during the Great American Race, AMP Energy collected nearly $1.7 million of exposure value. Earnhardt's sponsor was also mentioned on four occasions during MRN's national radio broadcast of the Daytona 500, good for another $26,000 of exposure value.

Budweiser mentions in association with its sponsorship of Kasey Kahne and UPS mentions regarding David Ragan were next in line among the leaders, as each brand was mentioned five times throughout the live Fox coverage. Budweiser picked up three more references during MRN's broadcast, bringing about a total of $853,000, while UPS obtained a half-dozen radio mentions for a total of $873,000 of media exposure.

Also prospering from the extended interviews and chatty drivers were the participating car makers. Ford failed to win the race, but certainly ruled the television and radio airwaves, as the brand was mentioned a combined 105 times, earning $8.5 million of comparable exposure value. Race-winning Chevrolet racked up 81 mentions ($4.2 million), followed by Toyota (49/$3.5 million) and Dodge (14/$1.2 million).

Most Mentioned on Fox

Sponsor, Mentions
Daytona 500, 178
NASCAR, 50
Daytona Int. Spdwy.,38
Sprint Cup, 25
NASCAR on Fox, 24

Driver, Mentions
Kevin Harvick 138
Clint Bowyer 82
Greg Biffle 66
D. Earnhardt, Jr. 66
Kasey Kahne 61 Joyce Julius & Associates PR