PHOENIX — NASCAR officially capped off its season with the formal celebration of its season here national touring champions Tuesday evening at its annual NASCAR Awards Banquet.
Photo: Dominic Aragon/TRE
The celebration honored Kyle Larson, Jesse Love, and Corey Heim at the JW Desert Ridge Marriott in Scottsdale, Ariz. along with other drivers and industry personnel.
NASCAR TV personalities Adam Alexander and Kim Coon hosted the event, which was broadcasted on The NASCAR Channel.
The Championship 4 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity, and Cup Series took the stage, with each champion giving a speech.
Heim thanked his TRICON Garage team, agent, and members of his family.
Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE
“Thank you dad, for your unconditional support and belief in me since day one, and of course, thank you to my girlfriend Taylor for all the support,” Heim said.
Heim scored 12 victories en route to his first NASCAR Truck Series title.
Love picked up three wins en route to his first series title.
Photo: Franklin Romero/TRE
“It means the world to me, I don’t really know what to say, but I know how I feel,” Love said at the top of his speech.
Love thanked God, his sponsors, members of his RCR team, his family, and gave a special mention to his father, Duke, getting emotional describing his support for him.
Larson’s three-win season and third-place finish at Phoenix on Sunday secured the best finish among the Cup Series Championship 4 and his second Cup Series championship.
Photo: Franklin Romero/TRE
“What a year, standing over here tonight, it really hits me how hard this is to do, and how many people it takes to make it happy,” Larson said.
“I’m beyond grateful to be here, surrounded by the people who made this season, what it is.”
Larson thanked his family for their support, and his Hendrick Motorsports team for their season-long efforts.
The banquet has been hosted in various cities over the years.
NASCAR held a formal ceremony in New York City from 1981 to 2008.
The ceremony then moved to Las Vegas in 2009, concluding its run in Sin City in 2018.
The banquet then moved to Nashville from 2019 through 2023.
Last year, the awards ceremony was held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.