NASCAR officially moves Cup banquet to Vegas

Nationwide and Truck Banquets combined: NASCAR announced that Las Vegas formally becomes the “Official Host City of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week." NASCAR’s annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony will be held at the Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 4, 2009. The move to Las Vegas provides for greater flexibility for driver and fan events. The NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events will be combined and held at the Loews Miami Beach on Monday, Nov. 23.

The Grand-Am Rolex Series banquet will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla. on Monday, Oct. 12. NASCAR had held the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event in New York City every year since 1981. After exploring several options, NASCAR formed a partnership with Las Vegas Events, making the change of venue a reality. "I can’t say enough about the warm reception from Las Vegas," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “Las Vegas really made it a priority to get the awards ceremony moved there. We were able to come to an agreement on reasonable room blocks, banquet facilities, and approvals to hold fan activities on the famous Las Vegas Strip."

Activities being planned for the days leading up to the Awards Ceremony include the return of the “Victory Lap," a procession of the top 10 NSCS drivers in their race cars, the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Media Luncheon, the Pit Stop Tour and the NASCAR Street Tour to include stock cars and mobile marketing units placed throughout the city. The awards ceremony for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be consolidated in south Florida. This is designed to provide another great venue for the ceremony as well as help save NNS teams from making an additional trip following the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The top-five finishers from the NNS and NCWTS will be honored at the combined banquet celebration. NASCAR PR