It’s official: LV gets banquet

NASCAR announced Thursday it is putting a new face on the annual Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony by moving it this year to the Wynn Las Vegas.

The Dec. 4 ceremony and dinner will cap a week of Cup-related activities at various Las Vegas locations for teams and fans.

The anticipated move from New York City and its famed Waldorf-Astoria hotel first was reported April 3 by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"I can’t say enough about the warm reception from Las Vegas," NASCAR chairman and chief executive Brian France said in a news release. "Las Vegas really made it a priority to get the awards ceremony moved there. We were able to come to an agreement on reasonable room blocks, banquet facilities and approvals to hold fan activities on the famous Las Vegas Strip."

The effort to move the banquet to Las Vegas from New York, where it had been since 1981, was led by Las Vegas Motor Speedway president Chris Powell and Bruton Smith, founder and chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns the speedway.

"This is a great day for Las Vegas," Powell said. "NASCAR’s move to Las Vegas with the year-end awards ceremonies opens up many more opportunities to get the fans involved."

Activities being planned by NASCAR for the week include a "Victory Lap" procession of the top 10 Cup drivers in their race cars on the Strip, the National Motorsports Press Association’s media luncheon and various interactive exhibits.

Rossi Ralenkotter, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, began negotiating with NASCAR intensely the past few months to move the party to Las Vegas.

Ralenkotter said this month that the LVCVA, which is funded with a hotel bed tax, would pay NASCAR between $500,000 and $1 million annually to host the weeklong event.

It will be a busy week in Las Vegas. The 10-day National Finals Rodeo begins at the Thomas & Mack Center on Dec. 3.

• LVMS BULLRING — Jimmy Parker Jr. has been declared the winner of Saturday’s Super Late Models feature race in the NASCAR All-American Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Bullring.

Taylor Barton, who was first to cross the finish line, was disqualified Monday for using an unapproved carburetor. Parker, the runner-up, was awarded the victory.

The penalty dropped Barton from first to sixth in points and moved Chris Bray into the lead. Parker is second.

• TRACY TO INDY — KV Racing Technology will field a car for Paul Tracy in the Indianapolis 500. The race is May 24.

Tracy, 40, the 2003 Champ Car World Series champion and a longtime Las Vegas resident, will try to qualify for his sixth Indy 500 and first since 2002, when he finished second.

Jimmy Vasser, another Las Vegan, is co-owner of the KV Racing Technology team.