The Daytona 500, NASCAR’s premiere event, was bumped to prime time for the first time after rain forced the first postponement of the race in its 54 years. The race finally began Monday night and was down to its final 43 laps when Juan Pablo Montoya’s car broke and wrecked into a truck carrying 200 gallons of jet fuel, causing a huge fire that postponed the race yet again. After the rain, fire, soap suds and fog cleared, Matt Kenseth won one of the most bizarre Daytona 500 in history.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around NASCAR and the Daytona 500 online.

NASCAR and Daytona 500 buzz (past 30 days)

Conversations around both NASCAR and the Daytona 500 spiked this week.

NASCAR vs. NBA vs. MLB vs. NFL vs. MLS

NASCAR appeared in more conversations online than NBA, NFL, MLB or MLS following Monday’s Daytona 500.

NASCAR and Daytona 500 buzz (past 4 years)

Despite the buzz surrounding the most recent race, overall chatter around both NASCAR and the Daytona 500 has steadily declined over the past four years. Will this week’s bizarre race give NASCAR buzz some momentum heading into the new season? What can NASCAR do to increase buzz online?

Sunday night, the 84th annual Academy Awards went head-to-head with the NBA All-Star Game in a battle for viewers. The game started at 7:30 on TNT and the Oscars began at 8:30 on ABC.

As expected, “The Artist” won a number of the major Academy Awards Sunday night in Los Angeles, including best picture, best director, best actor and even best costume design and best score. However, the NBA boasted its most connected All-Star weekend ever, even enabling fans to vote for Saturday night’s Slam Dunk contest winner via Twitter using the hashtag #SpriteSlam.

Which event generated more buzz over the weekend? We used Social Radar to find out.

Academy Awards vs. NBA All-Star game buzz

We analyzed the number of times Oscars, Academy Awards, NBA, All-Star and #SpriteSlam terms were mentioned online. The Oscars won by a landslide. The terms ‘Oscars’ or ‘Academy Awards’ were mentioned in 1.5% of ALL Internet conversations.

NBA All-Star Game sentiment

Conversations around the NBA All-Star game were 82% positive over the weekend. Dunk contest winner Jeremy Evans, who jumped over Kevin Hart in the winning dunk, appeared in 8% of conversations and was 57% negative. Some said the 2012 Dunk Contest was one of the worst ever.

Academy Awards sentiment

Despite mixed reviews on Billy Crystal as a host, overall conversations around the Academy Awards or Oscars were 86% positive over the weekend.

Sneaker fanatics have been sleeping on the streets for days to snap up Nike’s newest item: a $220 glow-in-the-dark shoe: The Foamposite Galaxy.

The hype around the Galaxy Faomposites has made it one of the most anticipated sneaker releases in the past decade. The shoes graced the front cover of the Daily News, one of New York city’s most read newspapers. The shoes caused riots at a Florida mall Foot Locker this morning and bidding became frantic on eBay — as of this morning, a pair listed on eBay was up to $70,000.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

Galaxy Foamposite buzz

Galaxy Foamposite mentions skyrocketed more than 14,000% this month. Foamposite chatter surpassed Air Jordan mentions, which are historically the most hyped shoe released. The Air Jordan 4 “Cement” version was just re-released last weekend for the first time in 13 years.

Even though the Air Jordan 4s were re-released the day after Michael Jordan’s birthday, the Galaxy Foamposite re-release is generating more buzz. Penny Hardaway, who was the signature Nike athlete for the foamposite shoe and former player for the Orlando Magic, said Nike timed the re-release to coincide with this weekend’s NBA All-Star game in Orlando.

According to @nikestore, Nike would not be releasing the Foamposites online due to extremely limited quantities. Is Nike the best brand at creating buzz around product launches?

Saturday’s funeral for legendary pop singer Whitney Houston is expected to be made available for television and web streaming from the New Jersey church where she grew up. The service will be more upbeat and positive than a typical funeral.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversation online.

Whitney Houston mentions

Whitney Houston was mentioned in nearly 2% of all Internet conversations following her passing on February 11, 2012. In our fast-moving, social media driven society, mentions quickly subsided in just one day as tweets quickly began to focus on other topics.

Content distribution

Approximately 97% of Whitney Houston mentions came via Twitter.

Nicki Minaj turned some heads with her performance full of religious symbolism at the 2012 Grammy Awards. The performance welcomed her alter ego Roman Zolanski to the Grammy stage for the first time. The Catholic Church expressed distaste for the performance, which began with a mock confessional. Catholic League president Bill Donahue blamed the Recording Academy for allowing the number to air.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around Nicki Minaj online.

Nicki Minaj buzz

Nicki Minaj mentions increased 1,781% following her performance at the Grammys.

Nicki Minaj conversation sentiment

Conversations around Nicki Minaj were 71% negative following her performance. Nearly every topic of conversation was negative (red).

Some say the performance saved the Grammys, catapulting the event from just another awards show into a social media spectacle. But do you think Nicki Minaj did permanent damage to her brand and her career in the process?

Eli Manning and the New York Giants defeated Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Sunday night’s Super Bowl 21-17. The game was seen by an average of 111.3 million people, the biggest audience in U.S. television history. We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

Super Bowl buzz

Super Bowl mentions more than doubled mentions in 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Super Bowl sentiment

Conversations around the Super Bowl were 77% positive. The game generated more chatter than the commercials — ‘Giants’ appeared in 12% of conversations, halftime performer ‘Madonna’ appeared in 7% of conversations, and upcoming movie ‘Avengers’ appeared in 3% of all Super Bowl conversations.

Content analysis

Approximately 99% of Super Bowl mentions yesterday and today came via Twitter. The event generated more real-time conversation than blog content. An average of 58% of Super Bowl mentions came via males. Ads such as the H&M commercial featuring David Beckham effectively engaged women in the Super Bowl conversation.

Brand Bowl

With advertising selling for record prices, which brands generated the most buzz for their buck? Doritos generated the biggest spike in conversation and the most mentions among advertisers. The Doritos ‘Sling Baby’ ad was rated highest by users on a USA Today poll.

Many advertisements featured Twitter hashtags this year. Which campaign do you think was most effective?

After many years at No. 1, American Idol could finally get overthrown in the weekly ratings as the country’s highest-rated TV series.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

American Idol buzz

American Idol mentions have been steadily declining for the last several years.

American Idol sentiment

Chatter around American Idol is at its most negative point. The chart contains data from 2008-present.

Is American Idol’s run as the highest rated show on TV over?

The 69th annual Golden Globes were broadcast from Hollywood on NBC Sunday night. The show awarded best comedy TV series to Modern Family, and best drama to Homeland, among other surprises.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around the Golden Globes online.

Golden Globes buzz

The term ‘Golden Globes’ was mentioned more times online Sunday than all four of the winning NFL Divisional Playoff team names combined.

Golden Globes sentiment

Conversations around Sunday’s Golden Globe awards were 83% positive overall. George Clooney was one of the most talked about stars, appearing in 15% of all Golden Globes chatter — 97% of Clooney mentions were positive. Ricky Gervais, the show’s host who promised sharp-tongued swipes at celebrities, was called dull and awkward.

Content distribution

Interestingly, 88% of chatter around the Golden Globes came via blogs.

Did you watch the show? What did you think?

Want to increase buzz? Just ask Justin Bieber to launch your product.

Justin Bieber unveiled the TOSY mRobo dancing robot at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas Wednesday. mRobo is a speaker dock that snaps up into a dancing robot when it begins to hear music.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.

TOSY mRobo buzz

Both ‘TOSY’ and ‘mRobo’ mentions increased several hundred percent following the CES launch.

TOSY sentiment

Conversations around TOSY are currently only 55% positive. The robot had trouble showing off his moves in the demo. ‘Justin Bieber’ is currently being mentioned in 38% of TOSY conversations online.

Justin Timberlake just took the next step in his campaign to bring MySpace back. Timberlake joined Panasonic on stage at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show to announce the MySpace app for TV, which aims to make TV more social.

We used Social Radar to analyze conversations around MySpace online.

MySpace buzz

MySpace buzz has been on the steady decline for years, hitting a low point in September 2011. But since then, mentions have been on the rise.

MySpace sentiment

Conversations around MySpace are currently 74% positive. ‘TV’ currently appears in 12% of MySpace conversations. ‘Justin’ and ‘Panasonic’ each appear in 6% of MySpace conversations.

Can Justin Timberlake really bring MySpace back?