Kyle Busch the center of attention?

   Is this a surprise? Kyle Busch had been the center of attention during this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series broadcasts.

   Interviewed longer and mentioned more frequently than any other driver on the circuit during the first 12 event telecasts of 2011, Busch parlayed the spotlight into $28.4 million of exposure value for his sponsors, $6.5 million more than the next most sponsor-potent driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Associates, Inc. -- which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast over the last 27 seasons -- Busch’s sponsors were monitored for eight hours, 30 minutes, 39 seconds (8:30:39) during live and replayed coverage of NASCAR’s Daytona 500 through last month’s Coca-Cola 600. Additionally, Busch and the Fox TV crew verbally mentioned his sponsors on 95 occasions.

         Driver, Sponsor Exp., Driver Interviews, Value

1) Ky. Busch	8:30:39	95	$28,447,545
2) Earnhardt Jr.	5:36:54	18	$21,835,475
3) J. Johnson	8:09:27	41	$20,332,440
4) K. Harvick	5:25:07	120	$17,256,695
5) J. Gordon	5:26:12	31	$16,439,475
6) C. Edwards	5:32:30	72	$15,229,945
7) T. Bayne	2:16:48	23	$12,312,365
8) T. Stewart	4:39:04	8	$12,128,595
9) M. Kenseth	4:03:45	37	$11,314,500
10) C. Bowyer	4:28:44	39	$11,293,260