Gluckometer Ratings: Measuring Crowd Noise During Driver Introductions

Final 2010 Rankings: Which 12 Drivers Got The Most Crowd Noise This Year?

This season, SB Nation measured the crowd noise during pre-race driver introductions with a handheld decibel meter and published the rankings each week.

We took measurements from NASCAR fans at 29 races overall, so there was a decent-sized sample to work with for our cumulative season rankings.

To come up with the final list, we gave drivers points based on their finishing order in the weekly top 10. If a driver got the most noise in a given week, he was awarded 10 points; if he finished 10th, he received one point, and so on.

We totaled up the points, and the ranking below is the result.

The winner comes as no surprise. Dale Earnhardt Jr. consistently received the most crowd noise (he topped the list in 13 weeks) and was recently named the sport's most popular driver for the eighth straight year.

But this ranking may offer some insight into how the other star drivers stack up.

Does it surprise you that enough people booed Juan Pablo Montoya this season to put him in the top 10? Or that championship contender Denny Hamlin receives very little noise each week compared to other drivers?

Also, it's worth noting the dramatic drop-off after the top six. While any driver on the top half of the list was capable of getting the most noise in a given week (all but Tony Stewart topped the list at least once), none of the drivers in the bottom half ever finished higher than third.

Check out the full list below and tell us what you think.

At Homestead, Jimmie Johnson Wins In Both Championship And Crowd Noise

Phoenix Crowd Noise Ratings: Fans Friendly To Most Drivers

Phoenix NASCAR fans seemed to be in a good mood on Sunday, offering more cheers than usual for drivers who normally get booed.

For example: Jimmie Johnson actually got a fair number of cheers to go along with his typical boos, and Jeff Gordon received mostly cheers instead of his usual 50/50 mix.

Who wasn't greeted as warmly? Kyle Busch led all drivers in noise and was observed to be the recipient of several Kyle-style finger salutes from the crowd (likely a regular occurrence, we just happened to be paying attention this week).

One note of interest: Though championship contenders Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick were both in the top five for most noise, points leader Denny Hamlin wasn't even in the top 10. For some reason, fans still don't get fired up about Hamlin one way or the other.

Of course, that could change after Homestead.

The full ratings from Phoenix:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is (Of Course) Most Popular At Talladega; But Who Was Second?

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed NASCAR for more than one week that Dale Earnhardt Jr. received the most cheers at Talladega – the capital of Junior Nation.

Just how popular is Dale Jr. at 'Dega? His winning margin in SB Nation's weekly noise meter was one of the largest of the season.

Runner-up Mark Martin was greeted with an even warmer reception than he gets at other tracks, perhaps indicating the Talladega fans have appreciation for the old-school drivers.

Here are the complete rankings:

Martinsville Fans REALLY Didn't Want To See Jimmie Johnson Win

Fans at Martinsville clearly had no interest in seeing Jimmie Johnson win again, as they made their feelings toward the four-time defending Cup champion known by showering him with boos in driver introductions.

Johnson's boos registered the highest decibel number on SB Nation's noise meter, ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s cheers.

One puzzling note: Denny Hamlin got a surprising number of boos in his home state. Typically not among the top 10 in crowd noise, Hamlin tied for fourth this week – but most of the noise was negative until he took the microphone and told the fans, "Go Hokies!"

We're not sure why fans haven't embraced Hamlin – the primary alternative to Johnson this year. The other title contender, Kevin Harvick, didn't even make the top 10 in most noise at Sunday's race.

Here are the complete rankings:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is Back On Top – At Least In Crowd Noise Ratings

This is somewhat unbelievable, but it had been since Daytona in July that Dale Earnhardt Jr. got the most crowd noise during pre-race driver introductions – at least in the six races where SB Nation's decibel meter was used.

That seems crazy, but look at who had gotten the loudest reaction since then:

• Indianapolis: Local favorite Jeff Gordon got the most noise.
• Bristol: Brad Keselowski incited the crowd with "Kyle Busch is an ass!"
• Atlanta: Earnhardt Jr. was fifth thanks to a bad starting spot; the crowd wasn't warmed up yet when he was introduced (Busch drew the loudest reaction).
• Richmond: Fans spent more vocal energy booing Busch than cheering for Earnhardt Jr.
• Dover: Drivers were supposed to introduce themselves to the crowd, but Earnhardt Jr. walked right by the microphone and didn't say anything.
• Fontana: Jimmie Johnson got the loudest reception in his native Southern California.

Fontana: Local Boy Jimmie Johnson Gets The Most Noise

Southern California native Jimmie Johnson got more cheers than usual at the closest track to his hometown of El Cajon, but he also got a ton of boos as well.

That added up to the most noise of any driver and the only one to top 90 decibels on our noisemeter. Even Kyle Busch, who was roundly jeered, couldn't manage that much noise.

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. had plenty of cheers, but the crowd wasn't as vocal for him as they were for the top two.

Here are the full results from Fontana:

Invisible Kyle Busch Gets Most Noise At Richmond; Real Kyle Busch No. 8

Who do NASCAR fans dislike more than Kyle Busch? The invisible Kyle Busch, apparently.

We're not entirely clear on what happened Saturday night, but this much we know for sure: Busch was introduced twice during driver introductions at Richmond.

First, Busch was introduced in his 32nd starting position, but no one was shown emerging from the backstage area. From the best we and other witnesses can tell, Busch never came out.

Fans booed lustily anyway at the mere sight of Busch's car on the Sprint Vision screens.

Later, when it was Kevin Harvick's turn to be introduced in the 20th spot, Busch's name was announced again instead (just after his brother, Kurt). This time, he was shown coming out onstage and fans booed again, but not as loud.

Those watching the introductions were confused. Was Busch late? Would have have to start in the back of the field? NASCAR said no, and that all drivers were present for the introductions.

To tens of thousands of fans, the situation certainly seemed less clear.

Whatever happened, we believe "Invisible Kyle" got a bad rap. What's Invisible Kyle ever done to anyone?

Here are the noise ratings from this week:

Gluckometer, Atlanta: Fans Get Rowdy During Driver Introductions

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s lackluster qualifying performance left him behind several other drivers in the Gluckometer ratings this week.

The crowd always warms up and gets louder as drivers are introduced, so those toward the front of the field usually receive more noise than those in the back.

Typically, this hasn't affected Earnhardt Jr. But this week, it did.

Tony Stewart and even Mark Martin received more cheers than Earnhardt Jr., and the sport's most popular driver got only the fifth-most noise overall.

Is this a trend, or a one-week fluke? Stay tuned.

The ratings:

Gluckometer, Bristol: Record-Setting Crowd Noise, Unusual Names In Top 15

Allowing drivers to speak as they were introduced to the crowd completely shook up the Gluckometer noise ratings this week, knocking Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the top 10 and boosting names like Jeff Green and Todd Bodine into the top 15.

Brad Keselowski's "Kyle Busch is an ass!" comment recorded the loudest-ever crowd reaction since we started using the decibel meter to measure noise.

Below we have listed the quote or song which drew the loudest reactions for each driver. Some of them (Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr.) got the loudest reactions when they first walked through the curtain, not based on anything they said.

Below: A young fan from Bristol holds a sign after Kyle Busch's victory. (Getty Images)

Gluckometer, Daytona: Crowd Showers Dale Jr. With Cheers Despite Rain

Though a steady rain fell during driver introductions at Daytona, fans still provided plenty of noise to measure with our decibel meter.

And there was no surprise who received the most noise: Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won the Nationwide Series race in the No. 3 car a night earlier.

The loudest cheers of the night may have come after driver introductions, though: Fans in the stands went crazy when Kyle Busch wrecked (though we didn't measure it).

Gluckometer, New Hampshire: Dale Jr. Gets Knocked From No. 1, Logano Gets Warm Reception

For the first time since Dover, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not at the top of the prerace driver introduction noise rankings.

At New Hampshire, the decibel meter used to calculate the Gluckometer measured Jeff Gordon with a larger crowd reaction than Earnhardt Jr. – although not by much. It was likely a product of fans reacting to Gordon's aggressive driving at Sonoma.

Though Earnhardt Jr. was second, the other highly notable crowd reaction was for Joey Logano. The crowd showered the driver from nearby Connecticut with cheers, and he received the most noise yet in his young career.

Here are the complete rankings:

Gluckometer, Sonoma: Positive Reception For Hometown Favorite Gordon

As expected, Jeff Gordon was given a rousing ovation at Infineon Raceway, which is mere miles from his hometown of Vallejo.

But it wasn't enough to top Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Still, Gordon received all cheers and no audible trace of boos – which is rare at nearly every other track except for Sonoma.

The Gordon love spilled over to fellow Californian Jimmie Johnson as well, who heard far more cheers than usual.

One note: Because the crowd was so spread out, there weren't enough fans to record a decibel reading on the device we used to measure the Gluckometer's sound. So we relied on the traditional ear method this week.

Gluckometer, Michigan: Unexpected Reactions For Kurt Busch, Harvick/Logano

Michigan may perhaps be the place where the majority of NASCAR fans finally separated Kurt Busch from his younger brother Kyle.

Busch, the pole-sitter, recorded a sizable amount of cheers as he was introduced to the crowd before the race.

This was surprising in that Busch had never received cheers in any of the previous Gluckometer ratings since 2004. But that's exactly what happened. Kurt got a positive welcome, while the typical negative reaction for a member of the Busch family was reserved solely for Kyle.

Another surprise was the reactions for Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano following their Pocono incident. It wasn't surprising that fans would cheer for them (everyone likes to pick a side), but it was expected that those cheers for at least one of the drivers would be mixed in with boos.

For example, a Harvick fan who didn't appreciate Logano would figure to boo for the young driver, and vice versa.

But that wasn't what happened: Both got cheers.

Here's how Busch, Logano and Harvick stacked up according to a handheld decibel meter:

Gluckometer, Charlotte: The Usual Suspects Rule

The Gluckometer had a slight malfunction this week, as the decibel meter typically used to measure the crowd noise was affected by the BOOM BOOM BOOM bass beat of the music playing as the drivers came across the stage.

So we had to resort to a backup system: The old-fashioned ears. With the help of Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel, here are the ratings for driver intros on a 1-10 scale.

Gluckometer, All-Star: Sprint Showdown And All-Star Rankings

Since there were two races on Saturday, we're doubling your pleasure with two editions of the noise ratings, which are taken by a decibel meter every week during driver introductions to see which drivers get the most noise.

You'll notice the All-Star edition of the rankings features an unusual entry at No. 5: Brian Vickers and Casey Mears.

Mears was subbing in the All-Star race for Vickers, who is out for the season due to blood clots. At the sight of Vickers walking across the stage, fans gave a rousing ovation for the driver(s) of the No. 83 car. We assume the cheers were meant to welcome Vickers, but since Mears happened to be standing there, we're including him as well.

Here are the rankings, starting with the top five for the Sprint Showdown:

Gluckometer, Dover: Busch Booed, Then Wins

As Kyle Busch has said in paraphrasing the late Dale Earnhardt, it doesn't matter if he gets booed. He just wants the most noise.

He got both at Dover, topping the Gluckometer ratings for the second time this season (he earlier got the most noise in his hometown of Las Vegas).

Surprisingly – perhaps because Philadelphia-area fans are so used to booing loudly – three of the top four drivers in the noise ratings had boos. Often, the most-cheered drivers have the most noise.

The full ratings (ranked by decibels) below:

Gluckometer, Darlington: Old-School Fans Have A Strong Presence

If there's any track that attracts old-school fans, you'd think it would be Darlington.

That might help explain a shakeup in the Gluckometer ratings this week: According to our decibelmeter, Jeff Gordon got the most noise in pre-race introductions for the first time this season – mostly on the strength of some loud boo-birds.

The old-school fans also probably don't like Jimmie Johnson (perhaps for some of the same reasons they dislike Gordon) and Kyle Busch, but they do like drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Tony Stewart.

Juan Pablo Montoya draws boos every week, but he heard a larger-than-normal amount for the Southern 500. We're not sure why, but could it be because some Darlington fans are xenophobic? Feel free to leave your comments below if you agree or disagree.

Gluckometer, Richmond: Hamlin Finally Gets Some Love

One of the biggest ongoing mysteries in the Gluckometer ratings every week is the surprising lack of noise for Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin was anointed as the top preseason threat to Jimmie Johnson, was in the headlines for his clash with Brad Keselowski and has become a regular presence at the front of the field.

And yet, when he's introduced to the crowd every week, the noise barely registers.

Hamlin has cracked the Gluckometer top 10 just once all season – at Martinsville, his best track. But finally, he got some love from his home fans at Richmond to move him to a season-high sixth in the noise ratings.

Here's how Hamlin stacked up, along with the rest:

Gluckometer At Talladega: No Surprise In The No. 1 Spot

The Talladega crowd wasn't quite as loud as expected, but the result was certainly predictable: Dale Earnhardt Jr. got the most noise in the capital of Junior Nation.

There weren't too many surprises this week, other than David Reutimann almost making the top 10 (he was driving a University of Alabama car) and Carl Edwards receiving more boos than normal since the Brad Keselowski incident (Keselowski typically gets mildly booed every week, but this week was mildly cheered).

Another trend: Mark Martin, who was either No. 1 or No. 2 in noise almost all of last season, has been in the bottom half of the top 10 recently. We aren't sure why.

Gluckometer at Texas Motor Speedway: The Boo Birds Win

They say everything is bigger in Texas – including the boos, apparently.

In a rare example of boo power, a negative crowd reaction won for the first time since the Gluckometer went to the more scientific decibel meter (as opposed to using ears).

What does it mean? Well, perhaps fans in Texas aren't as shy as others about expressing their distaste for certain drivers.

Not only did Jimmie Johnson top the list with boos, but Kyle Busch was third and Jeff Gordon received more boos than he had all season.

Other notables: Ryan Newman makes an appearance in the top 10 for the first time all year, and Mark Martin almost fell out of the top 10 for the first time this season.

The full rankings:

Gluckometer (And Friends): Phoenix

There was no Gluckometer in Phoenix – at least the actual decibelmeter itself. So in lieu of measuring the crowd noise scientifically last weekend, SB Nation asked some aspiring NASCAR writers to help out: Toby Christie of RubbingsRacing.com, Michael Myers of Queers4Gears.com and Farrah Kaye, who contributes to several sites.

We asked each of them to rate the drivers on a 1-10 basis using an old-fashioned tool: Their ears. After receiving their rankings (1 being the least, 10 being the most), the scores were added up and averaged out, which gives us this week's Gluckometer ranking.

Phoenix-area native Michael McDowell, in the No. 10 position, appears on this list for the first time ever thanks to a hearty reception from his hometown fans.

Gluckometer: Martinsville

Despite the terrible weather on Sunday (the day the Martinsville race was originally scheduled to run), there were enough fans who braved the bone-chilling temperatures and rain to fill the Gluckometer with noise ratings.

The stands may have only been half-full at the time, but the fans in attendance made their voices heard.

This week, the top two drivers remained the same – though they got dramatically different receptions.

Here's who got the most noise in prerace driver introductions, along with what kind of noise they received:

Gluckometer: Bristol

The Gluckometer was ready to rock and roll at Bristol – along with the drivers' theme songs – but unfortunately prerace introductions were a big letdown.

Bristol had fans introduce the drivers via prerecorded video, which was played on the Sprint Vision screens. Instead of a public address announcer hyping up the drivers' names, fans read the names – often in unexcited voices – and drew little reaction from the crowd.

It was likely a good idea gone bad, and the whole prerace intros lacked juice.

That's a major factor why Brad Keselowski, who received a noise rating of 85.6 decibels in the Nationwide race (mostly boos), didn't even rate for the Sprint Cup race. He got about the same reaction as Terry Cook, who didn't even show for intros.

Unfortunately, the crowd just wasn't into it, and only nine Cup drivers moved the needle.

The ratings:

Gluckometer: Atlanta

I had to do a double-take during driver introductions in Atlanta.

Despite a less-than-stellar crowd, the noise level recorded by the Gluckometer had been outstanding. Fourth-place starter Mark Martin had received a thunderous cheer, followed by loud boos for Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch.

Now it was time for the pole-sitter, who just so happened to be the sport's most popular driver. Surely, this was one week where Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominate the noise rankings.

The cheer was loud, but not loud enough according to my decibel meter. I kept staring at the numbers, but they weren't higher than Martin's.

Is this thing on?

How to explain Earnhardt Jr. winning the pole but not the noise meter? Here's my theory: The track P.A. announcer had one of the longest introductions in history.

It went something like this (I'm paraphrasing): 

Annnnnnd on the polllllllllle, from Kannapolis, North Carolinaaaaaaaaaaaa, the driver of the Number. Eighty. Eight. Amp. Energy. National Guard. Chevrolettttttttttttttttt. From Hendrick Motorsporrrrrrrrrrrts. It's Dallllllllllllllllllle Earnhardtttttttttttttt JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNIOR!!!!!!!!!!!

I mean, really. By the time it was the crowd's turn to give its biggest cheer, perhaps they were a bit cheered out.

Either that, or Mark Martin is just that popular these days.

We'll see what happens at Bristol. Here are the Gluckometer rankings for Atlanta:

Gluckometer: Las Vegas

As Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s philosophy went, it doesn't matter if the crowd boos or cheers, as long as they're making noise.

Kyle Busch has paraphrased that comment before to explain his thunderous boos over the last few seasons. And he may be relying on it again this week after he got the loudest reception at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Why? Because while Busch got the most noise, more than half of it was boos – at his hometown track, at that.

Here are the top 10 drivers who received the loudest welcome in Vegas, according to the "Gluckometer" – a decibel meter.

Gluckometer: Auto Club 500

Gluckometer: Daytona 500

Here they are: The Gluckometer Ratings for the Daytona 500.

As a reminder, I used to estimate these based on my ears and using a scale between 1-10. Now I have a decibel meter to help me accurately measure the crowd noise during driver introductions each week.

            Driver                Noise in dB         Type of noise

1. Mark Martin*                    92.1                    Cheers
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.          89.0                    Cheers
3. Tony Stewart                   86.1                     Mixed
4. Jimmie Johnson             85.7                     Mixed
5. Kyle Busch                      84.6                     Boos
6. PA Announcer**             82.1                     Crowd roar
7. Jeff Gordon                     81.8                      Mixed
8. Kasey Kahne                 80.4                      Cheers
9. Juan Pablo Montoya    78.7                      Boos
10. Kurt Busch                      78.3                     Boos

* – Most crowd noise recorded (in two-race history of using decibel meter)

** – PA Announcer said, "ARE YOU READY TO MEET THE TOP 10 DRIVERS?" Crowd roared.

Gluckometer Ratings: Bud Shootout

As often as possible, I try to measure fan reaction to the drivers during pre-race introductions.

In the past, I've done it on a 1-10 scale using my ears. This year, I enlisted help using a new decibel meter.

Here are the drivers who got the most noise prior to tonight's Budweiser Shootout:

            Driver                Noise in dB         Type of noise

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.        90.5                      Cheers
2. Kyle Busch                     88.1                      Boos
3. Mark Martin                    87.5                      Cheers
4. Jimmie Johnson            87.1                      Boos
5. Tony Stewart                  86.8                      Cheers
6. Matt Kenseth                  85.9                      Cheers
7. Juan Pablo Montoya    85.5                      Boos
8. Ken Schrader                85.5                      Cheers
9. Kasey Kahne                 85.3                      Cheers
10. Carl Edwards                85.0                      Cheers