NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fanbases headline FanSided Fandom 250

By Asher Fair | Dec 14, 2017

TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 15: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, leads Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 15, 2017 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /

The NASCAR fanbase and the fanbase of Dale Earnhardt Jr. headlined the FanSided Fandom 250 from a racing perspective. Were their rankings fair?

FanSided, the network of which Beyond the Flag is a part, recently released their annual Fandom 250, which is essentially a huge compilation of 250 fanbases in the world of sports and entertainment that are ranked from #250 all the way up to #1.

Both the fanbases of NASCAR as a whole and recently retired Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. headline the Fandom 250 from a racing perspective. NASCAR’s fanbase came in at #24 on the overall list as the top-ranked fanbase of the eight fanbases in the “Other” category, and Earnhardt Jr.’s fanbase came in at #203 on the overall list as the 17th-ranked fanbase for sports figures. Were either of these two fanbases overrated or underrated?

As far as the ranking for NASCAR’s fanbase goes, that would seem to be fair. Of the eight fanbases in the “Other” category, NASCAR definitely deserves the #1 spot, and #24 is a fair ranking in terms of the overall rankings.

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However, there are definitely some fanbases ahead of NASCAR’s that you could argue are overrated, most notably Colin Kaepernick at #21, as the NFL player hasn’t seen action in an NFL game in almost 12 months, yet he is ranked as the highest NFL player of 2017…

As far as the ranking for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s fanbase goes, he would definitely appear underrated. Ranked as the 17th best fanbase in terms of sports figures and the 203rd best fanbase from an overall perspective, Earnhardt Jr.’s fanbase was definitely somewhat undervalued, especially given the fact that this was his final season in the sport, and his fans showed it at every race following his retirement announcement in April.

The 43-year-old ended his Cup Series career as the 15-time reigning winner of the Most Popular Driver Award. He got more attention this past season during his “farewell tour” than any other season he has ever had. He is a huge reason that NASCAR itself has a fanbase that is able to be ranked #24 among all fanbases in sports and entertainment; after all, NASCAR’s fanbase was down at #71 overall last year before we knew Earnhardt Jr. would retire at the end of this past season.

So the fact that his fanbase is ranked down at #203 overall and #17 among sports figures is a little bit misleading. He has generated a fanbase over his 18-year full-time career in the sport that could probably support NASCAR on its own if it came down to it.

Next: Top 100 NASCAR drivers of all-time

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. having just retired from his driving duty of the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series, will there be any drivers ranked in the Fandom 250 next year? Will NASCAR, as a result of losing their 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner, take a tumble on the list? We should know for sure within the next 12 months.

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