The NASCAR Awards Banquet was initially a low-key affair, held in the basement of the Plaza Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida. The private event was exclusively for Cup Series drivers and teams that finished in the top 10 in the final standings, along with executives from the sport, and remained closed to the media.
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In 1981, seeking a more glamorous setting, the ceremony relocated to the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Then, in 2009, in an attempt to escape the frenetic pace of the holiday shopping season in The Big Apple, the awards banquet moved to Las Vegas.
A decade later, in 2019, NASCAR opted for another change of scenery, moving the event to Nashville. It marked NASCAR’s return to Music City for the first time since the Nashville Superspeedway closed in 2012. The sport’s return to the area saw an increase in demand for stock car racing in the city, necessitating the reopening of the 1.3-mile-long oval.
Since 2021, champions from all three nationwide series also started getting celebrated at the Cup Series Awards Banquet. However, given North Carolina’s deep ties to many teams and NASCAR drivers, the decision was made to keep the event closer to Charlotte. Despite this, many fans hold the opinion that New York City is the quintessential backdrop for the banquet.
The sentiment was echoed recently when several fans of the sport reacted to a picture of stock cars going down the iconic Times Square in the city. The caption to the post read, “I feel like the NASCAR Awards should always be somewhere cool. Where would you like to see the Awards??? My vote is NYC.”
The response was overwhelming, with many rallying in the comments to support the move back to New York City.
I feel like the NASCAR Awards should always be somewhere cool.
Where would you like to see the Awards??? My vote is NYC. pic.twitter.com/vxLh9KyDB8
— The Daily Downforce (@dailydownforce) November 22, 2024
One fan enthused, “That would be great to bring it back to NYC,” while another declared, “It was the best place.” Firmly, a NASCAR enthusiast proclaimed, “It belongs in NYC !” and another chimed in with a straightforward, “Never should’ve left NYC.”
Back when NASCAR celebrated in Las Vegas
Darrell Waltrip, a NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and broadcaster, was the first champion to be celebrated at The Big Apple after he clinched the 1981 title, marking the ceremony’s move to New York. Reflecting on the transition to Las Vegas, later on, Waltrip remarked, “It was unbelievable, the difference between the two (venues).”
“Having the dinner in New York was a huge step up. It was making a statement. This wasn’t just a backwoods sport, a bunch of good ol’ boys; these guys are professional race car drivers and this would change the image of the sport. And it did,” he added.
New York remained the backdrop for the NASCAR banquet for 28 years. Yet, the city’s bustling nature posed challenges for fan-friendly events outdoors, and unpredictable weather often played spoilsport.
Moreover, the local media’s lukewarm coverage meant that despite noteworthy spending, the event rarely made headlines the following day. Despite these hurdles, Waltrip admitted a lingering fondness for New York, noting, “There’s nothing wrong with Las Vegas. It’s a fun place to go and a fun place to have an event. Just a difference in times, I guess.”
Jeff Gordon also shared his thoughts in 2015, saying, “I personally like New York a lot and I like to be there. But I can also remember … trying to move from the hotel six blocks and it would take you 45 minutes; the snow and just a lot of things … were real challenges.”
It’s been 16 years since NASCAR parted ways with New York. Perhaps, as an experiment, it might be worthwhile to revisit the metropolis and see how a return would be received today.
