Jimmie Johnson tops Forbes "Most Influential Athlete" list

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 400 at Kansas Speedway on April 21, 2012 in Kansas City, Kansas.

/ Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

(CBS/AP) Unlike Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin, Jimmie Johnson was nowhere to be found on Time's "100 most influential" list last week. But that didn't stop the NASCAR star from topping Forbes' "Most Influential Athletes" list. It was the second straight year the five-time Sprint Cup Series champion has topped the list.

The rankings are done by public opinion polling. Forbes says that Nielsen and E-Poll surveyed over 1,100 adults about dozens of well-known athletes to measure their likeability and whether they are considered influential to marketers.

Says Forbes of Johnson's appeal: He "carries a 'guy next door" persona that fans can relate to."

This year, six of the 10 featured on the list are NFL quarterbacks, including Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as Tebow, who debuted last year at No. 10, but is now ranked second. Lin ranked No. 10 in the Forbes list.

Five-time NASCAR champion Johnson was joined on the list by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. But Earnhardt slipped from third to seventh, while teammate Jeff Gordon dropped off the list completely.

The complete Forbes list:

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Tim Tebow

3. Peyton Manning

4. Manny Pacquaio

5. Tom Brady

6. Aaron Rodgers

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

8. Drew Brees

9. Eli Manning

10. Jeremy Lin

[exumatrip]

I had a good laugh at this dork Mari1963.. You must just be another jealous type of person that is just uncomfortable with Tom Brady being the best looking and best quarterback in the NFL... He and his ex girlfriend split up.. thats it.. They did the right thing and love their child.. The loser wife you are talking about that Tom Brady married? Is the top super model in the world and one of the best business women in the world.......She is a loser? She made 70 million dollars last year... Grow up .. You are the loser!

[mari1963]

Tom Brady made the list? I want to vomit.

This is a man who gets his girlfriend pregnant, doesn't marry her, then leaves her, hooks up with a loser model girlfriend, marries her instead, gets her pregnant and then walks around pretending to be a role model for young athletes?

Tom Brady is the most vile, despicable excuse of a man there is.

The only list he should be # 1 on is "Athlete who deserves to be forgotten"

[exumatrip]

Hey Mari1963 Get a life you silly redneck... Tom Brady did the right thing......You call his current wife a loser? Do you have any idea how much this woman made as a business person this year 65 million dollars... Go back and sleep off your cheap moonshine silly person and stop being so jealous of the best quarterback in the NFL

[formerlyluvnut]

Um, race car drivers ain't "athletes". All they do is sit there, go fast & turn left. Whoop dee doo.