DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 21: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
What's it worth to win the Daytona 500 for a sponsor? Plenty.
A new study conducted jointly by the Los Angeles-based media agency Wasserman and Buffalo, New York-based Nervve showed that Denny Hamlin's Daytona 500 victory was worth $1.9 million in earned media value for his primary sponsor, FedEx.
According to the study, FedEx got nearly 23 minutes of clear exposure during the race, tops among the 40 cars in the field.
There were some interesting tidbits from the study:
-- "For brands seeking to optimize their earned media performance in NASCAR, the wise place to focus initial efforts should be on the hood placement. Consistent with other races we've measured, the hood placement generated the most value of any single signage location," the study concluded.
-- The study measured clarity of sponsor logos "to help determine the effectiveness of the logo and creative execution." The winners in this category were Caterpillar and McDonald's, which each generated a 92 percent clarity rating.
-- The winner in the average duration of exposure was Kevin Harvick's No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, which managed an average of 6.7 seconds per exposure, 60 percent above the average for the field.
Here are the top five driver/team/sponsor value performances in the Daytona 500, per the Wasserman Nervve data:
5. Jamie McMurray, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, McDonald's, $0.90 million.
4. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Hass Racing, Jimmy John's, $1 million.
3. Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, M&M's, $1.1 million.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports, Nationwide, $1.2 million.
1. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx, $1.7 million.
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