The NASCAR annual award ceremony is perhaps one of the biggest gala events in the racing community that has derived its roots from the very core of motorsport history since 1950. And this year it’s extra special and for good reason.
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NASCAR is all set to celebrate its 75th anniversary with the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Craftsman Truck Series awards ceremony returning to the Music City Center in Nashville on Thursday, November 30th.
There was a time when NASCAR held the award ceremonies for three top-tier National series on three separate days. But that was until 2021.
For the first time, NASCAR will also felicitate the champions from the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, and NASCAR International Series on Tuesday, November 28.
Reminder on "banquet" info for NASCAR: The NASCAR national series (truck, Xfinity, Cup) awards ceremony is 5p CT (6p ET) Thursday Nov 30 in Nashville. MRN does a radio broadcast that is streamed on its website and on SiriusXM. Telecast is 7p ET Sunday Dec 3 on Peacock.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 20, 2023
Additionally, NASCAR will host a pair of new events on November 29; the NASCAR House and the NASCAR Champion Car Parade. The NASCAR House will unfurl on 5th and Broadway from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, while the NASCAR Champion Car Parade will take to the street of Broadway from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. CT.
Who were the big winners from last year
Trackhouse overkill. That is exactly what last year’s awards ceremony looked like. Earning the first two victories of his career at COTA and Talladega Superspeedway, backed by the highest number of top-5 (15) and top-10 performances (21), the fourth-most laps of all drivers (692), and the second-best average finish of all drivers (13.3), Ross Chastain took home the title of “The Driver of the Year”.
The coveted “Team of the Year” title too, fell to the hands of the #1 sensation’s Cup team. Besides bringing in Pitbull as its co-owner and purchasing Chip Ganassi Racing’s entire racing operation, both of Trackhouse Racing’s cars finished in the top 10. Did we mention Project 91, which brought F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen to the Cup Series arena at Watkins Glen in August?
While the Coca-Cola 600 was condoned the Race of the Year, The Best Finish was taken away by none other than Kyle “Rowdy” Busch at the Bristol dirt race. Alas, there will be no dirt racing at Bristol Motor Speedway next year.
Official: Both NASCAR weekends at Bristol in 2024 will be on the concrete. No dirt race at Bristol. Two concrete race weekends. Dates still TBA. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/zNGhRUp14R
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 15, 2023
Starting from the pole, Team Penske’s Joey Logano scooted forth to lead 187 of 312 laps of the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway. Logano sailed into the offseason with two feathers in his hat, the Championship trophy, and the Most Dominant Performance award.
Other awards like the Gustiest Performance and the Top Underdog Performance went to JGR icon Christopher Bell and Spire Motorsports speedster Corey LaJoie, respectively.
