Timeout for trivia

 And, OK, so that's cruel.

That's a mean-girl joke at NASCAR's expense, because NASCAR isn't trivia. It's a Great Big Important American Motorsport -- or at least it used to be. 

Because let's be honest here, Blobophiles. If I asked you who won the NASCAR Cup championship yesterday, or asked if you even knew yesterday was Championship Sunday for the stock-car jockeys, how would you have answered?

"Of course I knew! It was at Phoenix, and Joey Logano locked up his second title with a dominating win, and it was the first time Roger Penske's drivers won the NASCAR title (Logano) and the IndyCar title (Will Power) in the same season."

Or ... 

"Wait, what? I thought NASCAR was over two months ago!"

I'm guessing for most of you, it was door No. 2.

I say that as someone who covered motorsports for almost 40 years, including the first 20 Brickyard 400s, and while I could have told you yesterday was Championship Sunday, I couldn't have named the four drivers fighting it out for the title on a bet. Two of them I'd barely heard of.

For the record, the four were Logano, defending champion Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell.

Logano and Elliott I know. But Chastain? Bell?

The first I thought was one of those back-marker guys who fill out the field every week. The second I saw interviewed on TV yesterday during the pre-race coverage.

He looked like he was 12.

"Oh, Mr. Blob," you're saying now. "You're so old you list your occupation as 'artifact' on your tax return. Everyone looks like he's 12 to you."

True.

But, still. How far off the national radar has NASCAR fallen when even an old gearhead like me doesn't recognize half the top four drivers in the sport this season?

Sad days. Just sad.