Last year saw a number of drivers reach milestones with races run, wins, and even years on the track.  With NASCAR starting the next year on its journey to another milestone; what milestones await the drivers this upcoming season?  Now officially 75 years old, there are a number of anniversaries that can be celebrated in year 76 of NASCAR.

Paul Menard has now been retired for five years and would become eligible for nomination in the Hal of Fame should the committee feel he is a worthy candidate.

Love it or hate it, the 2024 season marks 10 years since the inception of the current playoff format in NASCAR.

The 2024 racing season also marks the 15th anniversay of the double file restart…or the guessing game by the drivers whether they chose the right lane and the guessing game among the broadcasters and fans as to which driver will get out in front first.  And with the recent implementation of the “chooce cone”, things frequently get VERY interesting!

For all the numerologists out there, 2024 marks 20 years since Dale Jr won his first Daytona 500; the second 500 win came in 2014…  Wonder what would happen if he got behind the wheel in 2024????

While JR started the season with a win in 2004, Kurt Busch took home the BIG trophy at the end of the season for his only championship.  He beat Jimmie Johnson by just eight points!

While JR celebrates with first 500 win, 2024 marks 30 since SR scored his seventh championship to become just the second driver to do so behind King Richard Petty.

With a return to the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2024, NASCAR will celebrate 30 years since the first Brickyard 400 with Jeff Gordon crossing the finish line.  It would be a few more years before Dale Jarrett won the race and created the tradition of “kissing the bricks” to celebrate a win.

In a show that times have really changed…both for cars and drivers…2024 marks 40 years since Ricky Rudd litterally taped his eyes open in order to keep racing after a big crash and run in the Daytona 500.  More serious about driver safety, drivers are required to make a trip to the infield care center immediately following any crash where they cannot contiue and if there are any signs of possible concussion are held until properly cleared by a neurological specialist.  As for the cars, little is allowed for repairs with tape about the only option when it comes to crash damage.

Now in his 80’s, 2024 will mark 40 years since Richard Petty last won a race to reach that unattainable 200 total wins in a single NASCAR racing series (Kyle Busch has topped the number but it comes from totalling all of his wins across all three racing series).  It was the Firecracker 400 (now the Coke Zero 400) and President Reason gave the command to start engines.  Not to be left out of the record books, Time Ricmond and David Pearson got into a fight after the race.

There are those who thing the current 36 race season is too long; good thing they weren’t around in 1963/4 because the 1964 season actually began in December 1963 and ran 62 races in a single season.

The last couple of seasons have seen seven road course races in the Cup Series.  For many years there were only two – Sonoma and Watkins Glen.  But the very first road course race was run just five years after NASCAR became a sport when the drivers hit the runways of Linden Airport in New Jersey.  It was 1954 and Al Keller crossed the finish line first to earn the title “road course ace”.