It has been a long year, but after Friday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Ceremony at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City the 2008 season is officially in the record books. The evening started out with actor Kevin Costner stumbling through his opening speech and even at one point called Dale Earnhardt Sr. the 'Terminator' instead of the Intimidator.

Thankfully, the night picked up some speed and went off without a hitch from there on out. Before the top-10 drivers made their way to the podium for their accepting speeches, Ed Peper, Vice President and General Manager of North America for General Motors, accepted General Motors thirty-second Manufacturers Title.

Peper thanked all of the Chevrolet team owners and customers out there and explained the current state of the domestic auto industry is at a crossroads. "This is toughest fight of our lives," Peper told the crowd. "I hope you'll let you legislators know how vital their support of the domestic auto industry truly is."

Kyle Busch got the drivers' speeches underway by cracking jokes, admitting he was disappointed in the way his season ended and offering a kind and sincere tribute to Sam Ard and other pioneering drivers. Busch told his fellow competitors, "We can do more to say thank you to the pioneers and show them our appreciation."

Moving on to his own team in 2009, Tony Stewart took a moment in his speech to thank everyone from Joe Gibbs Racing for ten years of service. One emotional moment was when Stewart thanked crew chief Greg Zipadelli. Stewart even ate his words from earlier in the year and thanked Goodyear for all of their support.

Jeff Gordon compared the No. 48 team of today to the No. 24 team of the nineties, but said he had to go with the No. 24 team of course - they did have Ray Evernham, Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus. The four-time champion and co-owner of the No. 48 pointed out Letarte caught a lot of flack this year, but clearly stated those critics would be eating their words come next year.

Jeff Burton also urged everyone in the crowd to remember how much Chevrolet had supported the sport and explained it is time to return the support. Burton ended his speech by thanking the troops serving in the United States military and reminding them, "I can promise the troops this sport has your backs, at all times and all the time. We'll always have your back and it will always be like that."

Carl Edwards was awarded the Sprint Monster Moment award for his bold move in Kansas for the win. Making his speech, it was clear Edwards would have much rather been sitting at the head table, but carried himself like a pro. "It's very difficult to get up and give a speech about second," Edwards admitted. "It's second, you didn't win." Edwards went on to give Jimmie Johnson and the entire No. 48 team credit for being such tough competitors.

Rick Hendrick stepped to the podium and addressed the other team owners in the crowd, thanking them for their competition. Hendrick - owner of a number of car dealerships - also thanked each manufacturer for their support of NASCAR and addressed the auto industry's dire situation. "I hope some of our elected officials are listening tonight," Hendrick said. "Our domestic automakers support more than five million jobs and represent the backbone of our country. So, let's make sure we do the same thing for Main Street what we've done for Wall Street."

Cale Yarborough made an appearance at Friday night's banquet, joining Brian France and Jimmie Johnson on stage. With this championship title, Johnson became only the second driver in NASCAR history to win three championships in a row. The man who now shares that record for the first time in thirty years, Cale Yarborough received a huge welcome from the crowd. "Someone finally did it," Yarborough admitted, "but it took them thirty years. I hope Jimmie realizes that NASCAR is 60 years old, and there are only two of us who have done it in those 60 years. It's a rare achievement."

Before presenting Johnson with the 2008 championship ring, Yarborough joked with team owner Rick Hendrick, asking him if he wanted to be the first car owner to have a 70 year old champion behind the wheel. Then reminding Johnson and the rest of the crowd this achievement did not top his, just equaled it. "All records are meant to be broken or tied," Yarborough said. "Tied, really, is all he's done. But if anyone was to tie it, I'm glad it's Jimmie. I'm sure he's going to win a bunch more. Just give it one year."

Making his way to the podium, the 2008 Sprint Cup Series champion was admittedly surprised by Yarborough's appearance at the banquet. Growing up in California, Johnson looked up to Yarborough as a youngster and now has the honor of sharing his record. "I'm so honored to be a part of history and to be a champion of this sport. I will do everything I can to represent our sport next year."

The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is now officially in the books and the champion has been crowned. Jimmie Johnson had a spectacular year, scoring seven wins, fifteen top-5s and twenty-two top-10s. Carl Edwards made a great charge all year long and Kyle Busch was more than dominant throughout most of the year. With no more racing until the series rolls into Daytona in February, all we can do now is reflect on the year that was and look with anticipation towards the next to come.