The NASCAR regular season came to a close last week with the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In a season dominated by talk of a ‘Big 3’ champion — Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., or Kyle Busch — it was wild card Joey Logano who roared past the pack to take home the crown.
Throughout the regular season, NASCAR drivers took to social to build their brands beyond the speedway. While Logano captured the momentum from his end-of-the-season success to become one of the most engaging drivers in the sport, the biggest winners may have been NASCAR’s seasoned vets. Several established stars — specifically Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and recently retired drivers Danica Patrick and Kasey Kahne — continued to move up the ranks and build large audiences on social.
Now that all three title winners have taken home their hardware, we look back at the social MVPs of the NASCAR regular season. Kyle Busch led all drivers in engagements and total video views, with Danica Patrick coming in a close second. Busch and Patrick both sit near the top in nearly every category. They, along with Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, illustate how NASCAR has become an athlete-driven power in the United States, and why the drivers and sport could benefit by sharing even more.
NASCAR’s athlete-driven leaderboard
Below is the performance analysis for every active NASCAR driver of the 2018 season on social. We break down the data by audience, activity, engagement, and growth on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram from February 11, 2018, to November 18, 2018.