On-screen Graphics
Fox is known for being the first network to show a scoring banner across the top of the screen with scrolling text during NASCAR telecasts. In previous years when ESPN and CBS owned the broadcasting rights, scoring had been displayed in a small box on the top left corner. Fox was also the first network to use the unique font/styling for each car number (such as Dale Earnhardt's number 3, Jeff Gordon's 24, the Petty 43) for their on-screen graphics, as opposed to a generic font (which was continued in their new scoring banner). Other networks would adopt this innovation and is now commonplace for most American motorsport broadcasts.
The first banner was simpler than the following three versions. The banner was translucent, with a yellow and white color scheme, and it moved up and down to and from the top of the screen. The first version of this banner was used in 2001, and had a sponsor logo, the words "RUNNING ORDER", and the positions of all the drivers continuously scrolling across the banner. The drivers' positions were in yellow boxes, with the names of the drivers to the right in small white text. In the top left corner was a rounded rectangle counting down the number of laps remaining in the race. Below the lap indicator was a trapezoid with the Fox logo and a colored dot which indicated green and yellow flag conditions, and would change accordingly when a different color flag came out. In 2002, the banner had some revisions. The lap indicator was moved to the right of the Fox logo and the flag indicator, and the sponsor logo was moved to the spot where the lap indicator had been, becoming fixed in place on the banner. During the first half of the race, the lap indicator displayed the current lap out of the number of total laps instead of showing the number of laps to the checkered flag during the whole race, and the banner began to be displayed during red flag periods, and to show unofficial results during post-race segments.
For the 2004 season, a new ticker was introduced, with a style similar to that of Fox's NFL score banner at the time (which had been implemented in 2003). It had a green and black color scheme. Instead of retracting from the top of the screen, this version flashed on and flashed off. This time, the "NASCAR on Fox" logo was on the left, and the flag indicator was changed from the colored dot to a line at the bottom of the ticker. In 2006, the color of the ticker was changed to a chrome finish, in line with the other Fox Sports properties (MLB, NFL) which had received the update in 2005. Also, the logos of the numbers of each driver were shown instead of the numbers being displayed in plain text. During this time, some viewers pointed out that the running order on Fox's on-screen ticker quickly became out-of-date due to on-track changes in position. In response, Fox introduced "top 10 only", "top 20 only", and "lead lap and free pass car" tickers starting at the 2006 Coca-Cola 600.
For the 2007 season, another new ticker was introduced, with a style similar to that of Fox's then current NFL score bar which had been introduced in 2006, but divided into 2 strips, one strip containing lap count and other information such as updates of positions, along with a square-shaped flag indicator and sponsor logo, and a new unobstructed ticker that stretched the entire width of the screen. However, until May 2008, the standings still did not update in real time. The option finally became available at the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond, but only because Fox diverted from NASCAR's official scoring. Instead it used global positioning systems located inside the cars, so the ticker could be updated live if the position of a car changed.
For the 2011 season, broadcasts on both Fox and Speed took on a design based on the new Fox Sports graphics package that had debuted on the network's NFL coverage in 2010. The new ticker is now contained within a bar (rather than a full-width banner), with race status located on a tab in the top-middle of the bar, and advertiser/network logos placed at the ends of the bar. Beginning at California, the colored "pods" that driver names are displayed in also began to show up in grey for drivers who are listed as being out of the race. As with all other Fox Sports broadcasts, coverage also began to be produced and shown in the 16:9 aspect ratio for all viewers.
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