Earnhardt Jr. Leads all NASCAR Drivers in Generating Television

Exposure for Corporate Sponsors after First 10 Races of 2008

         ANN ARBOR, MI, May 21, 2008 – 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):

Driver                      Rank

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. 

About Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc.:

         Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. is the sports and entertainment industry leader in accurate measurement and evaluation of sponsorships and promotional programs.  Joyce Julius’ fully customizable, third party research is highlighted by in-broadcast television exposure monitoring, full media impact measurements, and fan/consumer perception analyses.

         The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based firm—which monitors more than 2,500 nationally televised sports and special event programs annually—has been measuring the impact of corporate sponsorships across all forms of media since 1985.  These forms of media include national and regional event television broadcasts, television highlight and news programming, event radio, print media, Internet articles, along with exposure stemming from promotions and advertising, as well as event on-site elements.

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