SBNation.com’s January NASCAR Twitter Rankings

The NASCAR Twitter Rankings for January are finally here – better late than never, as they say.

After a tumultuous month, the rankings have found a new home at SBNation.com. But despite the change of scenery, the person at the top remains the same.

Juan Pablo Montoya is unbeatable and unstoppable, thanks to his international appeal. He may be more dominant in the Twitter Rankings than Jimmie Johnson is on the track.

As of today, here’s the full top 35 of the ever-growing list of NASCAR-related tweeters, ranked by number of followers (remember, only drivers, crew members and owners are eligible; drivers who have accounts in their names such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. but do not tweet for themselves are not eligible; wives, girlfriends, public relations, sponsor representatives and media not included).

1. Juan Pablo Montoya (@jpmontoya): 122,721 - “Only” gained 30,000 followers this month after his crazy 55,000-follower bonanza in December

2. Danica Patrick (@danicapatrick): 67,489 - Tweeted about her love of sewing after she got a new machine

3. Kevin Harvick (@kevinharvick): 22,711 - Will Harvick use Twitter to break news of his plans for 2011 and beyond?

4. Michael Waltrip (@mw55): 22,362 - Master of social media named 2009 NASCAR Tweeter of the Year in a December poll

5. Kenny Wallace (@kenny_wallace): 17,857 - Wallace recently demonstrated his Twitter trademark phrase “Kick it back! Grrr!” in person; it was quite a sight to behold

6. Kasey Kahne (@kaseykahne): 16,297 - Keeps moving up the rankings one spot at a time, passing Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler this month

7. Elliott Sadler (@elliott_sadler): 16,029 - Do you love hunting? Sorry, Sadler loves it more.

8. DeLana Harvick (@delanaharvick): 14,777 - According to tweets, her job as Kevin Harvick Inc. owner apparently involves a crazy amount of filing. Doesn’t sound fun

9. Bobby Labonte (@bobby_labonte): 12,335 - Labonte looks in his rear view mirror and sees Denny Hamlin closing quickly

10. Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin): 11,429 - Gained 3,000 followers this month, but it wasn’t enough to move up any positions. Good thing a knee injury won’t affect his tweeting

11. Ricky Carmichael (@rickycarmichael): 10,231 - Had a fun exchange with the NFL’s Chad Ochocinco, who challenged him to an 85-lap race at a to-be-determined track

12. Max Papis (@maxpapis): 7,799 - Twitter pioneer Papis’ follower growth has slowed of late; still as enthusiastic as ever

13. Robby Gordon (@robbygordon): 7,563 - Still unclear whether he tweets for himself, but protested after being left off this list last month

14. Brian Vickers (@brianlvickers): 6,560 - Rumor has it that he may attend a couple tweet-ups this season. Details TBA

15. Colin Braun (@colinbraun): 4,427 - Jumped 10 spots this month, but inflated his numbers by following more people than follow him (a Twitter trick to increase followers)

16. Steve Wallace (@stevewallace66): 3,813 - Hasn’t been active much lately; perhaps will resume when the season starts

17. T.J. Majors (@tjmajors): 2,953 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s eyes in the sky also spotted for @danicapatrick during December ARCA test

18. Kelly Bires (@kellybires): 2,875 - Jumps three spots to leapfrog Brett Griffin, splitting the Majors/Griffin spotter duo

19. Brett Griffin (@19spotter): 2,868 - Sadler spotter says he assigned the song “Parents Just Don’t Understand” as the ringtone for his mother

20. Michael McDowell (@mc_driver): 2,707 - Tweeted news about his new Nationwide Series ride with MacDonald Motorsports

21. Mike Calinoff (@mikecalinoff): 2,593 - Using the same followers strategy as Braun, Calinoff passes David Ragan for a top-20 spot.

22. David Ragan (@david_ragan): 2,535 - Pickup of a few hundred followers this month enough to get by Max Siegel

23. Max Siegel (@max_siegel): 2,404 - The BET show “Changing Lanes” could help the head of diversity program Revolution Racing move up the list

24. Justin Allgaier (@j_allgaier12): 2,123 - Allgaier and his wife @ashleyallgaier brought followers along for the ride on two marathon holiday road trips to visit family

25. Jamie McMurray (@jamiemcmurray): 2,050 - Already 2,000 followers after only signing up for Twitter a few weeks ago; very interactive with fans and likely to soar up the list

26. Brad Coleman (@bradccoleman): 1,979 - Slipped a couple spots. Getting close to 2k followers, but needs a ride for 2010

27. Scott Speed (@scottspeed): 1,947 - Together with @amanda_speed, easily the most entertaining couple anywhere on Twitter.

28. Landon Cassill (@landoncassill): 1,847 - Saved a young woman from being mugged on the side of the road; will good karma get him a ride for this season?

29. Aric Almirola (@aric_almirola): 1,593 - Landed a ride with Phoenix Racing for this season

30. Matt Kenseth (@mattk17): 1,587 - Joined Twitter and had a spurt of communication, but has now been silent for a month

31. Joe Nemechek (@frontrowjoe87): 1,456 - Some confusion over whether or not he tweets for himself

32. Marc Davis (@nascarmdavis): 974 - Broke the devastating news of his father’s passing this week via Twitter

33. Regan Smith (@regan_smith_): 917 - Getting ready to embark on a full Sprint Cup season with Furniture Row Racing

34. Travis Kvapil (@traviskvapil): 848 - Twitter newcomer showed his good guy side by trying to find a home for lost kittens (seriously!)

35. Rocky Ryan (@rocky_ryan): 753 - Jeff Burton’s spotter holds down the final spot and knocks Kasey Kahne’s engineer Keith Rodden off the list

Honorable mention: RPM No. 9 engineer Keith Rodden (@kmrodden) 712; Roush Fenway No. 16 Nationwide engineer Joey Cohen (@jcohen16) 515; driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (@stenhousejr) 452; driver Jeffrey Earnhardt (@SlickEarnhardt) 437; Red Bull No. 83 spotter Chris Lambert (3widemiddle) 401; driver James Buescher (@jamesbuescher) 378; driver Kertus Davis (@kertusdavis) 341; Roush Fenway Nationwide crew chief Eddie Pardue (@eddiepardue) 328; driver T.J. Bell (@racingwithtj) 282; driver Justin Marks (@Justin_Racing) 270; RAB Racing car chief Ashley Parlett (@just_ap) 166.