The NASCAR Awards took place last week while recognizing the champions of the three national series. Now, team owner Tommy Joe Martins is creating the Grand National Bash to recognize others drivers and teams throughout the sport.
This awards ceremony will take place on Dec. 14 at the Cain Center for the Arts in Cornelius, North Carolina. It will highlight several different individuals across the Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series/O’Reilly Auto Parts Series while celebrating independent, affiliate, and premier teams alike.
These three categories are key. The premier teams are those who have the most support from OEMs. This includes JR Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Tricon Garage, Haas Factory Team, Front Row Motorsports, Spire Motorsports, ThorSport Racing, and Kaulig Racing.
The affiliate teams are those who have an alliance and some support. They aren’t the “top-tier,” but they are still contenders. This includes such organizations as AM Racing, Sam Hunt Racing, RSS Racing, Halmar Friesen Racing, Rackley WAR, Jordan Anderson Racing, CR7 Motorsports, and Viking Motorsports.
The independent teams are those who “go it on their own.” The members of this group celebrates top-15 and top-10 finishes because they know how hard it is to achieve this with smaller budgets and little OEM support.
The independent teams include Alpha Prime Racing, Young’s Motorsports, Reaume Brothers Racing, DGM Racing, SS Green Light Racing, Freedom Racing Enterprises, Cope Family Racing, and Jeremy Clements Racing.
Introducing The Inaugural Grand National Bash presented by @ChaLewRaceParts! pic.twitter.com/e8f46nsWTQ
— Grand National Bash (@GrandBash) November 14, 2025
“The Grand National Bash is a celebration for everyone,” Martins, the President and co-owner of Alpha Prime Racing, said in an introductory letter. “It’s a way to give recognition throughout the fields of national stock car racing, while understanding the differences between each of our opportunities.
“All of us are racing for something. No matter the size of the organization, racing at this level is a big deal. It doesn’t exist without all of us. And that should be celebrated!”
Martins noted that a panel of media, drivers, team owners, agents, team managers, and representatives selected the finalists for each of the awards. They will decide some of the winners using statistical data from Racing Insights.
One note is that the team category focuses on a specific team within an organization, such as the No. 19 team at Joe Gibbs Racing. The organization category takes into account every team that races for that organization. So the Premier Organization category would look at all of the JR Motorsports entries compared to all of the Joe Gibbs Racing entries, for example.
The list of awards for the inaugural Grand National Bash includes the following categories:
- Breakout Driver of the Year
- Part-Time Driver of the Year
- Lap of the Year
- Independent Driver of the Year
- Affiliate Driver of the Year
- Premier Driver of the Year
- Breakout Team of the Year
- Independent Team of the Year
- Affiliate Team of the Year
- Premier Team of the Year
- Breakout Organization of the Year
- Independent Organization of the Year
- Affiliate Organization of the Year
- Premier Organization of the Year
