The excitement was certainly in the air on Friday, Dec. 4 in Vegas and could be seen throughout the Wynn Hotel by the show of fans roaming around hoping to see a driver or celebrity. The 2009 Sprint Cup Series Awards ceremony was held at the Wynn Hotel.
A Fan Reception was held before the start of the ceremonies, which allowed us to meet other people who had won the opportunity to be present at the ceremony. While waiting, the president of NASCAR, Mike Helton, stopped by and greeted everyone present.
After the fan reception, we were escorted onto the red carpet and took our seats inside the ballroom. Inside, there was Jimmie Johnson’s #48 car on display in front of the Champions table and a large Sprint Cup Trophy on stage.
During the ceremony we had the opportunity to meet with TV announcers Jeff Hammond and Steve Byrnes. After the conclusion of the awards ceremony, we were surrounded by some of the biggest names in NASCAR as they left the ballroom. We had the opportunity to meet with Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch.
We would like to extend our thanks again to the drivers and everyone in the NASCAR industry who provided us a very warm welcome at the ceremony.
Ryan
NASCAR is everywhere in Vegas this week.
We visited the Wynn Hotel to see the actual Sprint Cup Champions trophy located in the lobby. All across The Las Vegas Strip there are several stock cars being shown as part of the Aflac Pit Stop Tour. Greg Biffle’s car was in front of the Fashion Show Mall. Tony Stewart’s car was located at the Lagasse’s Stadium at the Palazzo.
More to come!
Ryan
We went to the Spring Mountain Road intersection in antipication of Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson’s burnout during the Victory Lap Parade in Vegas. We arrived about an hour before the parade and got a front-row seat.
The burnout was fantastic, but the ending was surprising. At the end of the burnout, Jimmie Johnson got close to the curb. The smoke was so thick we could barely see his car!
Jimmie got out of the car and started to look under the vehicle like something was wrong. A large puddle of oil was spilling out of the front of the stock car. Jimmie had to finish the parade without his #48 race car, and Petty Motorsports was on hand to tow it away.
More to come!
Ryan
My name is Ryan Boso, and I am one of the Brickyard 400 Race to Vegas Sweepstakes winners.
I have been a NASCAR fan for over 10 years. My wife, Annie, and I enjoy going to the Martinsville race in Virginia with our family members. We are from East Liverpool, Ohio, which is located along the Ohio River.
My favorite race car driver is Ryan Newman, and my wife’s favorite driver is Kasey Kahne. We were thrilled to hear of our sweepstakes win and thank Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this amazing opportunity this week in Las Vegas!
We’ll blog our impressions of what we see and do and send some pictures, too. Click on the pictures to see them full-size. We hope you enjoy the blog!
Ryan