New York, NY (Best E Casino) - NASCAR drivers and crew will exchange their firesuits for formal wear this evening as they celebrate the 2006 season with their annual Awards Ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

It is the 26th consecutive year that New York has hosted the awards ceremony. The event will be broadcast on TNT beginning at 9 p.m.

The highlight of the evening should be when 2006 Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson takes the stage to receive the accolades for a great season.

In the past Johnson has frequently been slammed for being too cool, too calm and too politically correct, but since winning the title he has seemingly come out of his shell and it should be even more visible tonight as the proceedings go on.

Johnson is emotional, he just doesn't wear it on his sleeve like Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Tony Stewart. But he will certainly show it when he accepts his awards tonight and talks of his season and career.

His career hasn't been the easy road many have portrayed for the California native.

One of his best friends was killed in a crash at the Lowe's Motor Speedway just hours after Johnson qualified for his very first Cup race. He raced through his sadness and grief that weekend.

In 2004 Johnson won at Martinsville only to go from the "high" of winning to an unbelievable low in a matter of minutes when the team was informed of the Hendrick Motorsports plane crash that killed ten of their friends and teammates. He has spoken of the crash on many occasions since and he has shown his emotion even two years later.

Tonight, however, Johnson is at the top of the mountain, he is the champion of his sport.

"This is everything I ever wanted," said Johnson after clinching his first Nextel Cup title after finishing in the top-five four straight seasons. "It was hard," Johnson said of the wait. "But it was worth it."

The awards ceremony celebrates the top-11 drivers and their accomplishments over the grueling 36-race Nextel Cup season.