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Jeff Gordon exits on top in media value and exposure, according to study

Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon

AP

Jeff Gordon’s final season in NASCAR naturally was the most well-documented storyline among Sprint Cup drivers last season.

Repucom, which measures the impact and valuation of sponsorships across several sports and has tracked hundreds of NASCAR brands, said Gordon ranked first among drivers for media value and time on screen during race broadcasts, with just over 24 hours of TV time during the 2015 season.

Defending series champion Kevin Harvick ranked second in the category, and newly crowned Kyle Busch helped improve the position of M&Ms/Mars in the primary sponsor rankings, moving up six positions to seventh.

Martin Truex Jr., who made the championship round and finished a career-best fourth in the standings, made the biggest gain in exposure. His media value more than tripled, and his Furniture Row Racing team increased 18 spots among primary sponsors.

The five drivers in media value were Gordon, Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano.

Repucom estimates this season’s Sprint Cup broadcasts provided nearly $1 billion in media value, which is based on location, size and duration of signage.

The top five brands in media value during Sprint Cup broadcasts were Sprint, Chevrolet, Toyota, Ford and Coca-Cola. The top five team sponsors were: Lowe’s, Nationwide, Jimmy John’s, Shell-Pennzoil and Haas Automation.

“NASCAR is an outstanding consumer marketing platform when 77% of fans would consider a product or service for the first time based on its sponsorship, and 70% feel loyal to sponsor brands,” Repucom executive vice president Peter Laatz said in a release. “Performance pays off for sponsors, as evidenced by the exposure received by teams with cars that advanced through to the final round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.”