Jeff Gluck: November Twitter rankings – Denny Hamlin makes major gains
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin has over 6,000 followers on Twitter.
// David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
As Twitter expands its reach into the NASCAR world, we thought it would be a good idea to compile a monthly Top 35 ranking of drivers, spotters, crew members and owners. These are just those who are actively involved in the sport; broadcast personalities, former drivers, reporters and team public relations representatives are not included on the list.
Denny Hamlin, who only started on Twitter at the beginning of October, gained nearly 6,000 followers in a month and jumped 14 spots in the rankings, boosted when he thanked “everyone who follows me on Twitter” on national television following his victory at Martinsville. Juan Pablo Montoya actually gained more followers (11,000) to retain the No. 1 spot, but with Danica Patrick’s possible move to NASCAR looming, Montoya may not be No. 1 next month.
A side note: Drivers who have accounts but have someone else tweet for them were not included (Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Robby Gordon).
As of Nov. 5, here are the current NASCAR Twitter rankings (based on number of followers):
1. Juan Pablo Montoya (Jpmontoya): 37,593 – Had the biggest gain in followers, more than 11,000 in a month
2. Kevin Harvick (Kevinharvick): 19,373 – Trying to hold off Michael Waltrip for the No. 2 spot
3. Michael Waltrip (Mw55): 19,080 – Perhaps the funniest NASCAR tweeter has become more interactive lately
4. Kenny Wallace (Kenny_Wallace): 15,356 – Often reminds followers he’s a driver first, but his TV stardom got him to No. 4
5. Elliott Sadler (Elliott_sadler): 13,249 – Passed DeLana Harvick for the No. 5 spot
6. DeLana Harvick (DeLanaHarvick): 13,012 – The No. 1 team owner on Twitter
7. Kasey Kahne (Kaseykahne): 12,132 – Gain of 3,500 followers helped him pass Bobby Labonte on this list
8. Bobby Labonte (Bobby_labonte): 10,694 – Having more than 10k followers can’t hurt his search for a ride next year
9. Ricky Carmichael (Rickycarmichael): 6,822 – Newcomer to the list used to be “RC_Racer” but took over his account from a fake
10. Max Papis (Maxpapis): 6,812 – Papis still proud of his “Twitter tribe”
11. Denny Hamlin (Dennyhamlin): 6,530 – After Martinsville win, he tweeted a picture of the congratulatory banner across his driveway
12. Brian Vickers (Brianvickers83): 5,222 – Moved up a position to 12th, the same spot he’s in for the Chase
13. Joey Logano (jlogano): 5,212 – Dropped two places, but not bad for a guy who hasn’t tweeted since August
14. Steve Wallace (Stevewallace66): 3,247 – Has a solid following as the No. 2 Nationwide Series driver on Twitter
15. T.J. Majors (tjmajors): 2,403 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s spotter gains two spots, which won’t sit well with No. 16 on this list
16. Brett Griffin (19spotter): 2,319 – Sadler’s spotter up one position, but gets passed by buddy Majors
17. Michael McDowell (Mc_Driver): 2,273 – Drops two spots, but still overachieving – just like on the track
18. Max Siegel (Max_siegel): 2,132 – Qualifies for this list now thanks to his involvement with Revolution Racing (diversity program)
19. David Ragan (david_ragan): 1,999 – Another Twitter rankings newcomer, Ragan has had spurts of communication
20. Kelly Bires (Kellybires): 1,921 – Up one spot this month and expected to climb thanks to his new ride at JR Motorsports
21. Brad Coleman (bradccoleman): 1,718 – Hasn’t been on the track much lately and dropped a spot here
22. Landon Cassill (Landoncassill): 1,462 – Maintains his position after first start of the year, still lots of followers for a guy with no ride
23. Justin Allgaier (J_Allgaier12): 1,380 – Perhaps will move up once people figure out how to spell his last name
24. Joe Nemechek (FrontRowJoe87): 1,085 – New to the list but is high up because he follows so many people
25. Aric Almirola (Aric_almirola): 1,034 – Almost got a big boost in exposure with Talladega truck race
26. Colin Braun (Colinbraun): 894 – Puzzling why Braun doesn’t have more followers. He’ll be in the Nationwide Series next year
27. Marc Davis (Nascarmdavis): 797 – Going to class for now, still trying to make it as a driver
28. Mike Calinoff (MikeCalinoff): 556 – Matt Kenseth’s spotter tweeted pics of his new tattoo
29. Keith Rodden (KMRodden): 530 – As engineer for Kahne’s team, interacts with fans and answers technical questions
30. Regan Smith (Regan_Smith_): 523 – When he goes full-time in Sprint Cup again next season, should get more followers
31. Rocky Ryan (Rocky_Ryan): 438 – Jeff Burton’s spotter got passed by Rodden and Smith
32. Chris Lambert (3widemiddle): 260 – New to the list, Lambert is the spotter for Brian Vickers
33. Kyle Busch (kylebusch): 166 – Busch says he won’t do Twitter because it’s a fad, but his account is set up if he changes his mind
34. Jeffrey Earnhardt (SlickEarnhardt): 149 – Shouldn’t take long to get followers once people hear an Earnhardt is tweeting
35. T.J. Bell (Racingwithtj): 126 – Twitter account for the Truck series driver needs more followers to stay on the list
