Five NASCAR drivers rank in the top 100 of Repucom’s Celebrity DBI ranking of athletes. The rankings, which evaluate celebrities on their influence and relevance, were reported first by the Sports Business Daily.
The Celebrity DBI ranking measures celebrities on awareness, appeal, aspiration, breakthrough, endorsement, influence, trend-setter and trust. The results are based off polls.
In data provided to NBC Sports by Repucom, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s score of 72.38 ranked 10th among athletes. His score is comparable to those of performers Kanye West and Nick Jonas and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
Danica Patrick’s score of 70.46 ranked 11th among athletes. Her score is comparable with model Kate Upton, actor James Franco and singer Bono.
Jimmie Johnson’s score of 59.74 ranked 33rd among athletes. His score is comparable to Boston Red Sox David Ortiz, New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski and broadcaster Keith Olbermann.
Tony Stewart’s score of 57.31 ranked 44th among athletes. His score is comparable to Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Garnett, actor Jason Sudeikis and Arizona Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald.
Kurt Busch’s score of 49.4 ranked 92nd among athletes. His score is comparable to Denver Bronco and Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller, singer Jason Aldean and model Brooklyn Decker.
Sixth through 10th among NASCAR drivers (scores were unavailable) were reigning champion Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth.
Four Sprint Cup drivers rank 50 percent or higher in awareness: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (75 percent), Danica Patrick (72 percent), Jimmie Johnson (71 percent) and Tony Stewart (65 percent.).
