DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The fans are making their voices heard. NASCAR is listening. And experts in the field of social media now rank NASCAR No. 1.

When NASCAR formed a Fan Council for fan input and advice on important topics related to the sport, the last thing anyone expected was an award -- let alone two awards. But in recent weeks, this unique "advisory board" of the sport's most avid fans has earned national acclaim by winning the Forrester Groundswell Award in the Business-to-Consumer Listening category as well as the Vision Critical 2009 Panel of the Year Award.

"The outside attention is flattering, but we're most happy about the inflow of smart and passionate input from a group of our most dedicated fans," NASCAR chairman Brian France said.

"NASCAR fans are known to be vocal about the sport they love. They want to be heard, and we want to hear them. The NASCAR Fan Council is turning out to be an extremely valuable platform that enables NASCAR to consider fan feedback in key decisions about the direction of the sport."

NASCAR introduced the Fan Council in 2008 to gain a better understanding of its fan base. In 2009, regular consultations with the council, an online community of 12,000 avid fans, resulted in two important changes to the sport:

• Double-file restarts, shootout style: When fan sentiment ran high for a new restart format -- in which the leaders line up side-by-side following cautions to restart the race -- NASCAR picked up the comments, validated and initiated a new double-file restart rule, to overwhelmingly positive reviews.

• Earlier and consistent TV start times: When fans voiced their opinions about event start times, NASCAR listened and quantified sentiment, resulting in earlier and more uniform start times for Sprint Cup Series races in 2010.

Every time NASCAR reaches out to the Fan Council for input, the first question asked is, "Is there anything on your mind you'd like to share with us about NASCAR?" This is an opportunity for these fans to share their thoughts with NASCAR leadership amongst other questions asked of the members.

"Every year the quality of business social applications goes up, and marketers have become more sophisticated," said Josh Bernoff, senior vice president, Idea Development at Forrester and co-author of Groundswell. "This year's award winners stood out in a very competitive field; all of them demonstrate not just creative use of social technologies, but impressive, measurable results."

Jennifer Reid, Vision Critical's senior vice president of strategy and a judge for the Panel of the Year Award, said online panels like the NASCAR Fan Council give people a true voice in the decisions being made by large organizations.

"Online panels add social media and community engagement to research in a way that really provides a channel for consumers to voice their ideas and opinions," Reid said. "The NASCAR Fan Council empowers fans in a powerful way that gives them a true voice in the direction of the sport."

"The Fan Council has created a shift in company culture as it relates to consumer research with nearly all departments embracing insights from our most avid fans," said Brian Moyer, NASCAR's managing director of market and media research. "It's an honor to be considered a leading brand as it relates to listening."

Related
• Sprint Cup Series to have uniform start times in 2010