After a 10-year run in Las Vegas, the NASCAR Cup Awards Ceremony is moving to the city nicknamed “Nash Vegas.”
NASCAR announced Wednesday that its 2019 postseason awards gala will be in Nashville, Tennessee. The show will be held Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville and televised on NBCSN.
“This year, we set a course to look at everything we do through a different lens, including how we celebrate the champions of our sport,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps told NASCAR.com. “Nashville’s energy, vibrant entertainment scene, and deep-rooted lineage in motorsports informed our decision and we believe our fans and industry will embrace the move to the Music City.”
The postseason awards had been held in Las Vegas since 2009. That followed a 28-year run in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria, host of the first awards ceremony for Cup in 1981.
NASCAR’s Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series awards ceremonies will remain in North Carolina at the Charlotte Convention Center. Those events will be held Friday, Nov. 22 (on the weekend between NASCAR’s season finale in Miami and Thanksgiving).
Other Champion’s Week events will be announced at a later date, but NASCAR is touting that “fans should expect to have more access than ever.”
Nashville already has been in the news with NASCAR over the past year as Speedway Motorsports Inc. has explored the concept of promoting a race at Fairgrounds Speedway, which played host to 42 Cup races from 1958-84.
“Nashville’s history with NASCAR is indisputable, and coupled with our event experience we are a perfect match for NASCAR Champions Week,” Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming NASCAR back home to Music City.”
NASCAR visits Tennesse twice annually for its race weekends at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“From the ‘Birthplace of Country Music’ in Bristol to the home of country music in Nashville, we join all Tennesseans in welcoming the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards Ceremony to the Volunteer State,” Bristol Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Jerry Caldwell said in a release from the track. “Music City never misses a beat when hosting high-profile events, and every race fan will want to join in when the stars of NASCAR roar into town for this season-ending celebration.”
When NASCAR announces the new awards banquet date the same day as when your wedding was planned. This is gonna be fun rescheduling everything. 😬 pic.twitter.com/xNP5bIGrW3
— Chase Briscoe (@ChaseBriscoe_14) March 6, 2019