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:
| Driver | dB | Type of Noise | Comment/Explanation | |||
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 91.9 | Boos | Fans REALLY didn't want a JJ win | ||
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 90.5 | Cheers | Still most popular | ||
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 89.3 | Boos | No love for Rowdy | ||
| T4 | Denny Hamlin | 89.2 | Mostly boos | Puzzling; Why boos in his home state? | ||
| T4 | Mark Martin | 89.2 | Cheers | The sentimental pick | ||
| 6 | Jeff Burton | 88.1 | Cheers | Local favorite | ||
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 87.9 | Mix | Fans softening on dislike this year | ||
| 8 | Tony Stewart | 86.9 | Cheers | Can do no wrong in his fans' eyes | ||
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | 86.6 | Cheers | Many new Red Bull fans | ||
| 10 | Ryan Newman | 85.6 | Cheers | Outside pole-sitter |
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Martinsville Fans REALLY Didn't Want To See Jimmie Johnson Win
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Comments
Boos
Regarding the boos for Hamlin…the people who know him best booed Hamlin. There you go, that tells you all you need to know about the self-centered egomaniac. Just saying.
by factfinder on Oct 26, 2010 2:56 PM EDT reply actions
Denny was booed at RaceDay as well. I tweeted about it, I was so surprised! Surprised as it was his home state but not surprised in general, I guess not many people like him.
by JennyWyatt on Oct 26, 2010 3:08 PM EDT reply actions
No wonder all the drivers hate Martinsville
I know, I know, it’s slow as molasses. The boos don’t help either, like playing at the Black hole if it were astroturf as well.
"Voetbal is pas totaal als je wint"- Coach Adun
"The greatest sin is to spurn the gift"- Coach Alistair
by Londonjoe on Oct 26, 2010 5:10 PM EDT reply actions
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