NASCAR's New York Tour in Full Swing

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season-ending week-long award-giving gala has officially taken control of New York City.

Wednesday morning, Times Square and Broadway hosted the "NASCAR Victory Lap", which involved all Top 10 drivers driving in their cars, a police escort, plenty of barricades, from many accounts a decent fan base, and definitely a lot of PO'ed New Yorkers.

The highlight of the event (which you can kinda see on the video) was Kyle Busch bumping into Matt Kenseth's bumper during the parade.

The week culminates on Friday with the Nextel Cup Series awards banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria Grand Ballroom, where Jimmie Johnson will be toasted as the champ and countless gaffes will be made by NASCAR personalities who aren't the best with public speaking will mis-read the teleprompter.

No worries, though, as ESPN has managed to make sure it isn't that big of a deal by hosting the awards show on ESPN Classic. You've got to believe NASCAR just loves that exposure.

Dr. Jerry Punch, the ESPN play-by-play commentator will serve as Master of Ceremonies while entertainment will be provided by David Spade. NASCAR's token B-list star, Kelly Clarkson, will be on hand for musical entertainment.

Until that point, make sure to keep an eye out for NASCAR personalities all over the tube -- from Good Morning America to Rachel Ray's cooking show -- during the media blitz.

One casuality of the current writer's strike? We won't get another appearance by the Top 10 guys on David Lettermen's show, which was definitely one of my favorite parts of the week.