Jimmie Johnson led all NASCAR drivers in media exposure heading into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, according to data from sponsorship exposure firm Joyce Julius. Johnson had around $60.6M in exposure for his sponsors during race telecasts from the Feb. 27 Daytona 500 through the Sept. 8 Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Int’l Raceway. Johnson was tops among Sprint Cup drivers in exposure time, mentions and number of interviews. At the same point last season, Kyle Busch topped all drivers with $56.1M in exposure. Johnson led at the same point in '10 ($66.8M) and '09 ($74.6M). Dale Earnhardt Jr. ranked second this season among all drivers with $56.9M through 26 races, followed by Tony Stewart ($48.7M) and Jeff Gordon ($46.8M). Gordon topped all drivers in the number of sponsors gaining exposure during race telecasts with 64. Ranking just outside the top 10 drivers in exposure value were Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Among category leaders, Chevy topped all auto brands with $75.1M in exposure through 26 races. Budweiser topped the beer category with $40.4M in exposure, while KFC was the top QSR with $23.6M.

Listed below are the top 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers in terms of TV exposure during race telecasts through all non-Chase races.

NOTES/METHODOLOGY: Stats reflect live and replay race telecasts. Joyce Julius calculates TV exposure value by comparing the in-broadcast visual and verbal exposure to the estimated cost of a national commercial during the telecast and applying "recognition grading" -- which takes into account such factors as size and placement of the image on screen, as well as brand clutter and integration of the brand into the activity.