NASCAR

Sprint Cup

CUP: Johnson Ready For Big Night

Jimmie Johnson will be feted tonight in Las Vegas...

Tom Jensen | Posted December 04, 2009 Las Vegas, NV

Jimmie Johnson walks out onstage with two Las Vegas showgirls during the the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions Week. (Photo: Getty Images)

Party time, at long last, has arrived.

Jimmie Johnson, who shattered NASCAR records this season, will take the stage tonight in The Wynn hotel and casino in Las Vegas, where he will receive his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Ceremony will be televised live on SPEED, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

Johnson put on a furious charge in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, winning four of 10 races and defeating his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin by 141 points, the largest margin of victory in Chase history. Jeff Gordon finished third in points to make it Hendrick drivers 1-2-3 in the Chase, another record accomplishment for the team. Team owner Rick Hendrick now has nine Cup championships —four each with Johnson and Gordon and one with Terry Labonte — tying Hendrick Motorsports with Petty Enterprises for the most team wins.

After a week of pre-event activities, the party will hit full stride tonight, and the overwhelming reaction of teams and NASCAR people has been that moving the banquet to Las Vegas after 27 years in New York City was a very good move, indeed.

“It’s a huge difference,” said Johnson. “One, the weather. Two, the congestion in the city. It’s been a lot easier for us to work the championship week and all the things that come along with it. And I think over time, we’ll learn how to make this bigger and better, and I think Vegas is a great spot for this.”

He was not alone in his assessment. Las Vegas native Kurt Busch, who finished fourth in points and best in class among the non-Hendrick cars said he, too, was pleased by the move.

“It’s been great. Vegas, it just creates a celebration, and the excitement, the atmosphere,” said Busch. “And everybody involved seems to be stepping around a little different and looking for what’s next, around the corner, because it is different than New York. Honestly, it’s champion’s week, everybody’s here to celebrate. This is a good time to understand and reflect on what everyone did this past year.”

Denny Hamlin, another driver who had a strong season, said one of the key differences between Las Vegas and New York is that Vegas is a town with a huge base of knowledgeable and passionate race fans.

“There’s a lot more race fans here,” said Hamlin, who finished fifth in points and had an especially strong second half of the season. “And the race fans get to enjoy the awards ceremony now, so that’s something that they’ve never been able to do. And I just think it goes back to what NASCAR’s been trying to do the last two years, and that’s reach out to the fans. We’re getting there.”

Johnson, of course, will be at center stage tonight, the star of the show. But champion’s week has been with activities and awards.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

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