For Johnson, Vegas offers celebration close to home

LAS VEGAS -- The move of Champion's Week from New York to Las Vegas was done for reasons bigger than any one person. There was the recession-prompted need to get away from the almost extortionist fees and room rates in Manhattan. There was the desire to find facilities with more space that could host a wider range of events. And there was the yearning for a host community that really wanted and appreciated NASCAR's presence, a stark departure from the outright indifference that often greeted this year-end celebration back east.

Daily recaps

• Monday: Week kicks off with grant-giving
• Tuesday: Johnson feasts with fans in Calif.
• Wednesday: J.J takes pics, gets roasted
• Thursday: Fans treated to quite a show
• Friday: Champs look back at week

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Regardless of who the 2009 Cup champion might have been, this geographic shift was bound to happen. But it seems almost appropriate for it to happen this year, as Jimmie Johnson celebrates a record-breaking fourth consecutive title in a part of the world that physically is very close to home.

It's fitting that NASCAR brings its championship gala this year to the wide, dusty expanse of the American Southwest, the same region that spawned a driver who cut his competitive teeth on motorbikes and in off-road cars. It's almost perfect that the move to Las Vegas coincides with the most momentous championship since Dale Earnhardt's record-tying seventh title, allowing Johnson to incorporate his native Southern California into his victory tour. Had these festivities still been in New York, Johnson would have been able to visit the San Diego area only by teleconference or satellite video.

Instead, he was there in person, on Monday returning to his hometown of El Cajon and his old middle school, where his foundation announced $922,000 in grants to schools in metro San Diego, Oklahoma (where his wife Chandra is from) and North Carolina. He also visited a Marine Corps base and a Lowe's store in the San Diego area, and the next day stopped in at Auto Club Speedway up the road in Fontana. He wouldn't have been able to do any of that if Champion's Week had remained in New York, where it was a fixture for 28 years. The schedule simply wouldn't have allowed room for a long flight west. (Continued)