2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Banquet Preview

The 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup awards banquet will be held this Friday night, December 2nd in New York City. Tony Stewart will be honored for his incredible season and well-deserved Championship. While most of the attention will be on Stewart and his team, there are plenty of other things to watch for while the festivities roll on.

You can't buy a ticket for this special invitation-only event.

The Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City will host the awards banquet on Friday night. The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup banquet has been held in New York City for the last 25 years.

All of the top ten drivers from the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup are invited. 2005 Rookie of the Year winner Kyle Busch will also be honored. Jeff Gordon won one million dollars plus an invitation to the banquet by finishing the season eleventh in points.

We will also hear from Stewart's car owner Joe Gibbs, crew chief Greg Zipadelli and even representatives from Home Depot as the entire team and everyone involved in the effort will be recognized.

This is the 25th time that NASCAR has honored the Champion in its top series in New York City.

The Final 2005 Top Ten

1. Tony Stewart -0
2. Greg Biffle -35
3. Carl Edwards -35
4. Mark Martin -105
5. Jimmie Johnson -127
6. Ryan Newman -174
7. Matt Kenseth -181
8. Rusty Wallace -393
9. Jeremy Mayfield -460
10. Kurt Busch -559

The 2005 banquet has the potential to be the best in recent memory. While some of the speeches will be painful, one will be worth the price of admission.

After being fired from Roush Racing with two races left in the season will Kurt Busch show up to accept his tenth place check? If he does what will he say in his speech? If not, how will NASCAR handle the glaring gap in coverage? This could potentially be the most interesting five minutes of the 2005 season.

TV: TNT Friday, December 2nd, 7:00PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and XM Satellite

This year the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup awards banquet will feature musical entertainment by singers Toni Braxton and Gavin DeGraw and jazz pianist Eric Lewis.

Comedian Jay Mohr is also listed on the bill.

There are some awards that have not been announced yet.

The National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) hosts a breakfast on Friday morning during which many awards will be given out. This is where Ryan Newman will accept his Bud Pole Award and Mark Cronquist will receive an award for being Tony Stewart's engine builder.

During that breakfast the Chex Cereals Most Popular Driver Award and the NMPA’s Myers Brothers Award winners will also be announced.

The awards banquet is the last official taste of NASCAR that we get until the teams invade Daytona in February. However, don't expect the drivers to look and sound like they do after a race. The drivers will all be in tuxedos and will be reading speeches off of teleprompters so that they don't forget to mention anyone.

The fun comes in the unscripted moments. Jokes, asides and clever remarks sneak out as drivers can't resist poking fun at each other, and themselves.

There will be moments on Friday evening when drivers launch into long boring lists of sponsors that will make you wonder why you are watching, but the fun of seeing NASCAR drivers dressed up and struggling to sound natural while reading from a teleprompter is definitely worth your time.