LAS VEGAS (AP) — NASCAR’s top drivers gathered Thursday morning for some last-minute instructions when a sleep-deprived Denny Hamlin caught the attention of his colleagues.

“Can we all keep it down in here for Denny,” quipped Tony Stewart to a chorus of laughter.

Ah, Vegas.

After 28 years of celebrating its season-ending awards ceremony in New York, NASCAR moved West and the party hasn’t stopped since four-time series champion Jimmie Johnson rolled into town on Tuesday evening.

The festivities have included a raunchy roast of Johnson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that was open to fans, and a parade lap of stock cars down the famed Strip. The top 12 drivers are playing high-rollers all over the city, and the experience is decidedly different from New York.

“It’s a more casual atmosphere,” said Hamlin, who has two of the themed suites booked at The Palms. “It seems everyone is having more fun. It’s not as stuffy as New York. When we were there, we’d do our events and then it seemed you just went back to the room and sat there until it was time to go out at night. Here, there’s just so much to do.”

New York worked for NASCAR for nearly three decades as the sport tried to attract an important market that is missing from the February-to-November season. NASCAR wanted Madison Ave.’s attention, and the three-day swing through the city typically met its needs.

But the logistics often were complicated, and the electricity had seemed to fizzle out several years ago, giving what was supposed to be a celebration a very starchy feeling.

Vegas has changed all that.

A stroll through the casino at host hotel The Wynn means seeing championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus playing blackjack by himself, or Greg Biffle throwing the dice at a craps table. Hamlin and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch have hit the nightclubs, while Ryan Newman was headed to a show.

“We go to New York to celebrate,” Busch said early in Wednesday’s roast of Johnson. “We go to Vegas to party!”

The roast has been the talk of the week so far, as the 12 drivers in attendance all got a chance to take shots at Johnson, the driver who has dominated them the last four seasons. Comedian Kevin Burke got the crowd warmed up with several jokes directed straight at the drivers, and then it was their turn.

“You’ve got everything on me,” teammate Jeff Gordon told him. “At least my eyebrows are better than yours.”

“The only thing faster than him is his receding hairline,” Hamlin said.

“I’m not going to say a … thing about Jimmie because I’m sick and tired of hearing his name,” Biffle added.

Then they really got rolling, learning only after that the remarks were being broadcast outside the room to fans who did not pay to attend the show but still were at the race track.

“I think it would have been beneficial to tell us we were being broadcast to kids outside the forum before, instead of after,” Newman said.

Apparently, the roasting of Johnson continued long after the event ended as the drivers ramped it up to a different level on their bus ride back to the hotel.

“That’s when it turned from PG-13 to R,” Busch said.

Fan access was a large part of the move from New York to Las Vegas.

The idea behind the new venue is to give fans more interaction and participation in the event. Beyond the chance encounters at casinos and restaurants, fans have been included in several of the events and some may even score tickets to Friday night’s black-tie ceremony.

Gordon said he’s waiting until after the final ceremony to assess the Vegas experience.

“I want to see the fans and see them being able to be part of the banquet – I think that’s always been an important aspect we’ve been missing,” he said. “I went to the ESPY Awards in New York City at Radio City Musical Hall years ago and I thought it was probably one of the coolest events that I’d ever been to because there were probably 1,000 fans. They were inside the Radio City Music Hall in the balconies, and it brought so much electricity to the room, every time someone got up to get an award, it was just way cool.

“I wish that for us. This year, we’re sort of taking a baby step toward that.”

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