NASCAR Awards to take place in Scottsdale, Arizona for the first time after Phoenix finale

The NASCAR Awards Banquet is set for a major shake-up in 2025. The annual year-end ceremony, which is held immediately after the Championship weekend, will move to Scottsdale, Arizona, for the very first time.

The coveted event has been held at different venues since its inception in 1981, back when it took place in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria. In 2009, it moved to Las Vegas and stayed there for the following decade.

In 2019, NASCAR moved its award ceremony to Nashville, marking the return of the sport to the city for the first time since the closure of Nashville Superspeedway. It was most recently held at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Speaking of its newest venue, Tim Clark, executive vice president and chief brand officer for NASCAR, said in a statement,

“Scottsdale offers the perfect backdrop for this year’s NASCAR Awards. The incredible excitement from Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway will immediately carry into this year’s Awards, adding a level of energy we’ve never seen for this celebration.”

Scheduled for November 4, Tuesday, the red carpet segment, followed by the main awards ceremony, will stream live on The NASCAR Channel starting at 6 pm ET. Drivers, teams, and industry executives will come together to witness the sport crowning its NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champions for the 2025 season.

Having said that, NASCAR is not leaving Charlotte completely. The Charlotte Convention Center will celebrate NASCAR’s regional series (like the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and its International Series (the Whelen Euro Series, Brasil Series, Mexico Series, and the NASCAR Canada Series).

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Denny Hamlin makes bold predictions as NASCAR sets its field for the Round of 12

After last week’s action-packed race at Bristol, which was marred by extreme tire wear, NASCAR is now ready for its upcoming playoff race. Scheduled for this coming Sunday, September 21, the 301-lap race, named the Mobil 1 301, will be televised on USA with radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This event will be the first in the three-race elimination round. With just a few days to go before that, Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, revealed his picks to drop out of contention before the Round of 12 opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“I have a weird feeling about (Ryan) Blaney,” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental. “He runs really, really good at Kansas. New Hampshire, I'm not sure. It's a flat track. He should be pretty good. The Roval, I don't know. He's not been very good on the road courses. Who am I to say? But it just…it's not his strong suit either.” And then (Austin) Cindric, (Joey) Logano, and (Ross) Chastain. I just think that he's been prone, that the numbers would say, he's prone to either feast or famine. And I think that if you have one famine race and then a subpar race, you could find yourself below,” he further explained.

All eyes are now on New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Last week’s winner and Denny Hamlin’s teammate, Christopher Bell, happens to be the defending track champion.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma