Did You Notice?

Did You Notice? … NASCAR is throwing an All-Star Race Hail Mary? A litany of changes announced Tuesday (April 11) for the sport’s main exhibition are designed to return it to a state of former glory. Twenty-five years after “One Hot Night,” the infamous 1992 race in which Dale Earnhardt and a …

Did You Notice? … A Sports Business Journal report surrounding the value of NASCAR franchises? If true, charters have been sold the last year or two at an average value of $2-3 million. According to the article, Tommy Baldwin Racing was one of the higher-end examples of what franchises have been …

Did You Notice? … The sport’s oldest drivers are the ones having the hardest transition into NASCAR’s new point system? Matt Kenseth (45), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (42), and Jimmie Johnson (41) are the three oldest competing full-time. (Sorry, Derrike Cope. 1990 was a loooong time ago.) The trio, despite being competitive …

Did You Notice? … The effect NASCAR stage racing has had on the point standings to date? Perhaps the most important shift occurred Sunday with Ryan Newman’s win. Newman, who won on late-race pit strategy after struggling most of the day is the first victor in the sport’s modern era to score fewer points than …

Did You Notice? … Kyle Busch‘s problem with NASCAR’s “Boys, have at it” rule? It’s certainly not the sport itself. Thrilled with the national publicity caused by Sunday’s scuffle, they’re leaning towards no penalty for Busch. Officials are happy that a spontaneous show of emotion overshadowed a ho-hum race and breathed life into …

Did You Notice? … Sunday’s Cup Series race at Atlanta had more pit road speeding penalties called (13) than lead changes (nine)? It was only fitting the day’s dominant driver, Kevin Harvick, got slapped with the final ticket, a call that took away a trip to Victory Lane. The penalties were spread out equally, …

Did You Notice? … Chase Elliott’s bitter pill to swallow after losing the Daytona 500? Elliott, whose dry gas tank cost him the lead with three laps remaining, dropped from first to 14th at the finish. Leaving without an interview from a reporter, he issued a brief statement through Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet …

Did You Notice? … Just a NASCAR change or two has descended upon us since we last came together? Since November, the sport has taken on a new title sponsor in Monster Energy, adopted a flurry of new rules designed to spice up competition, and split with tradition by chopping …

Did You Notice? … This season has produced more parity than at any time in recent NASCAR history? To answer that question we look no further than this year’s edition of the Championship 4. Each driver has either three or four victories; they’d all be inside the top 10 in points …

Did You Notice? … This Chase has been the one where nobody wrecked? We’re on pace for the fewest cautions in the history of NASCAR’s playoff, races decided through a handful of restarts and pit strategy spread out over long green-flag runs. Think back to last year and the title’s …