NASCAR hits Las Vegas for Champions Week awards show

Steve Marcus

By Case Keefer (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 | 11 p.m.

NASCAR is three days into its weeklong invasion of Las Vegas.

By all accounts, it’s off to a fast start. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway held events Tuesday and Wednesday to kick off NASCAR’s Champions Week, which runs through Friday.

Chris Powell, general manager of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, said the opportunity to host Champions Week was an honor for Las Vegas.

“I think it’s important from a point of prestige,” Powell said. “Las Vegas is certainly viewed as a NASCAR city given the presence of the races we have each year. We’re very happy to be able to host an event like this.”

The marquee events of Champions Week will take place over the next two days.

NASCAR will hold its annual NMPA Myers Brothers Awards show Thursday afternoon at the Venetian. At 7 p.m. Thursday, the focus will shift to the Rio for the annual Stewie Awards, which include honors for the funniest moments of the NASCAR year.

The final awards show will be 6 p.m. Friday at the Wynn and broadcast live on SPEED. That’s where Jimmie Johnson will accept his Sprint Cup Series championship.

Powell said the week provided NASCAR fans a unique opportunity to get to know the sport’s best drivers.

“I think a lot of times these guys get looked at as drones behind the steering wheel,” Powell said. “But they really have great personalities.”

NASCAR has traditionally held its Champions Week in New York. This is the first time in 28 years that the event was moved.

According to NASCAR officials, Las Vegas was a perfect fit.

“I can’t say enough about the warm reception from Las Vegas,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said in a statement. “Las Vegas really made it a priority to get the awards ceremony moved there.”

If Champions Week continues its success throughout the rest of the week, a fair question would be whether it could influence NASCAR to add a second Sprint Cup Series race in Las Vegas.

It’s something officials from the Speedway have talked about in the past. But Powell said this week’s festivities would have no bearing on the possibility.

“They are two totally separate situations,” Powell said. “This is not a race. It’s an event to showcase the hard work of the drivers.”

Still, Powell said, the Speedway would love to host an additional race.

“We would welcome a second Sprint Cup Series race,” Powell said, “but there’s a lot more to it than just lobbying to get one.”

Right now, Powell will continue to put his energy into the rest of Champions Week.

It’s an event he says Las Vegas is fortunate to have.

“It’s definitely a boom for our city because this is an event that brings hundreds of people in our industry to the town,” Powell said. “It’s created a lot of buzz.”