Who’s your second-favorite driver? The answer for most may surprise you
Jeff Burton has said he believes he is many people’s second-favorite driver.
But according to an informal Twitter poll taken Friday night, that’s not the case. Of the 222 people who responded to a question asking which driver was their second-favorite, the biggest vote-getter was a surprising name: Tony Stewart.
Stewart, of course, has many fans who view him as their No. 1 favorite. But 19 percent of respondents (42 people) who favored other drivers said Stewart was their second-favorite.
The two-time Cup champion draws much of his support from Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. Of the 53 people who said Earnhardt Jr. was their favorite driver, 30 percent picked Stewart as their No. 2.
Aside from Stewart, Denny Hamlin (11 percent) was the only driver to top double-digits in the percentage of people who said he was their second-favorite.
Kyle Busch (nine percent), Mark Martin (eight percent) and Kevin Harvick (seven percent) also drew strong support as No. 2 drivers.
Martin was also a heavy favorite of Earnhardt Jr. fans, with 19 percent of those respondents selecting the 50-year-old as their No. 2.
Earnhardt Jr. himself received four percent of the second-favorite vote, as did Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr.
Other drivers who had five or more people pick them as runner-up favorites included Juan Pablo Montoya, Brad Keselowski, Robby Gordon and Jeff Gordon.
Five of the six people who said Keselowski was their second-favorite driver listed Earnhardt Jr. as their favorite. Keselowski drove for Earnhardt Jr. in the Nationwide Series.
A total of 34 different drivers were named as second-favorites, perhaps showing that NASCAR fans are serious when they express interest in hearing about more than just the top drivers.
Burton, by the way, was named as a second-favorite driver by only one of the 222 respondents.
