On NASCAR: Viva Las Vegas
By Cathy Elliott
This is the week it sets in.
I’m just back from Las Vegas, the suitcase is unpacked, the washing machine is doing its spinning/cycling thing and the dog and I are getting ready to cozy up on the couch to watch the Redskins’ latest defeat. Then, it hits me. There isn’t a race today, and I really, really miss it.
Thanksgiving immediately follows the season-ending races at Homestead Miami Speedway, and Champion’s Week activities commence the week after that, so you really don’t have a lot of time to realize we have now entered The Void, those weeks in December and January when the drivers are working on their game plans, the crews are working on the cars, and the tracks are working to sell tickets for the 2011 season.
That’s all great, but it’s still 2010 and I’m excitedly already bouncing in my chair because I really think that as great as this year was, it was merely the appetizer course for what we’re going to see in 2011.
For the moment, however, there’s nothing to see. The stillness and the silence – things we aren’t accustomed to and really don’t care for – encourage that time-honored tradition of reflection.
Top of mind is Champion’s Week in Las Vegas, which runs the aforementioned silence-and-stillness combo platter out of the building in a skinny minute.
While I would support moving Champion’s Week around periodically, to places like Chicago, Miami or Dallas, it is difficult to imagine anywhere more suitable and yes, more fun, than Las Vegas. The reason? Las Vegas makes us feel like they’re lucky to have us, instead of the other way around.
A number of hotels and other venues up and down the Strip welcome NASCAR in various ways, from serving as show car locations to hosting events like the Myers Brothers awards luncheon and the NASCAR After the Lap fan forum following the Victory Lap down the Strip.
Speaking of the Victory Lap, which begins at Planet Hollywood and ends at the Hard Rock hotel, the way Las Vegas chooses to deal with that is by shutting the Strip down entirely for a couple of hours. I was taking a taxi at the exact time it was scheduled to start, and I asked the driver how he felt about this.
“Well, it’s a little inconvenient, I guess,” he said, “but I can’t complain. Last year the fare I had asked me to stop so I got to watch the whole thing. And the meter was running. It was pretty cool. Are they always that loud?”
Fast, noisy, pretty cool, and it turned a profit for the cab industry. Not much you can add to that. Except that only the top 12 cars participated in the Victory Lap; when you have all 43, they’re even louder.
The Hard Rock Hotel also hosts NASCAR After the Lap, which is quickly becoming the most popular and irreverent event of the week. As Jimmie Johnson put it, “We really torched each other.”
Highlights included Jeff Gordon’s pre-marital advice for Kyle Busch, who will tie the knot with longtime girlfriend Samantha Sarcinella in just a couple of weeks. “Get a pre-nup,” Gordon said.
And Tony Stewart admitted that given the choice, he wouldn’t mind spending a season as the star of The Bachelor. “A houseful of beautiful women? Sign me up,” said the two-time Cup Series champion.
Phones in the offices to top ABC executives probably burst into flames at this point, although it is important to note that Stewart made no mention of any interest in “Dancing With the Stars.” I guess he already does that every week.
The Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon is the equivalent of the Academy Awards technical awards ceremony, honoring the best in behind-the-scenes achievement. Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up the Hamburger Helper Most Popular Driver award for the eighth consecutive, Chad Knaus was once again honored as the Champion Crew Chief, and Kevin Conway was named Raybestos Rookie of the Year.
Far and away the most popular award and the most emotional moment of the day, however, honored the late Jim Hunter, the recipient of the Myers Brothers Award, given to those who have made outstanding contributions toward the betterment of motorsports.
The awards ceremony itself on Friday evening was one of the best in recent memory. The musical entertainment, including Rascal Flatts and Colbie Caillat, was outstanding, and Martina McBride brought the audience to its feet with her rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
But the very best part of the party -- and I never in a million years dreamed I would say this – was the drivers’ speeches. When NASCAR told the boys to ‘have at it’ way back in January, apparently they decided to apply this to every facet of their jobs. As a result, their speeches were humorous, honest, a tiny bit risqué at time, sometimes, and very conversational in their delivery.
Again, the best line of the evening, and there were many to choose from, came from Tony Stewart. Stewart elected to address the attitude of some that having the same guy repeatedly win the Cup Series title is getting a little monotonous.
“This is not bad for our sport,” Stewart said. “This is historic.”
All the appropriate people were recognized and thanked, but in the end, the drivers just seemed like friends up there talking to one another.
They have given us one of the most closely contested, controversial and exciting seasons in NASCAR history, with more to come. It was so much fun. And in that Las Vegas ballroom, all dressed up in designer tuxedos, far away from their familiar milieu, they actually seemed to be having fun themselves.
Isn’t that exactly how it should be?
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Cathy Elliott, the former director of public relations for Darlington Raceway, is a syndicated columnist for NASCAR and author of the book “Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR.” (for David M. Kinchen's review on this site: http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/100423-kinchen-columnsbookreview.html). Contact Cathy at cathyelliott@hotmail.com.