This is true. They will contact you if they need "brick" sized art for the horizontal auto-scroll headline apps. They also may contact you if your app is in "hold for developer release" while they're making their decision. If you are in contact with them, I advise against releasing an update during the process. It muddies the waters with the editorial team and you really just want to make their decision simple.

Featuring changes every thursday. The week after featuring you end up in the "new and noteworthy" section which is like getting 1/2 to 2/3rds of a featuring.