WINCHESTER, Ind. -- Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America announced today that the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Championship Awards Banquet will be held at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, December 8.

The 2012 Awards Banquet, which will mark the culmination of ARCA's 60th Anniversary Season, will be held in conjunction with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS), also taking place in the Indiana Convention Center December 6-8.

"Downtown Indianapolis offers a fresh, new setting for our awards banquet, and partnering with IMIS provides additional opportunities for our teams and sponsors to make great use of their time in Indy," said Mark Gundrum, vice president of business development and corporate partnerships for ARCA.

IMIS is the United States' premier hardcore racing trade show, conducted each year at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis and owned by Chris Paulsen, owner of C&R Racing, Jeff Stoops, president of Stoops Freightliner, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. From car builders to tire manufacturers to parts suppliers, every aspect of motorsports is represented at IMIS, which has a lifetime contract with the City of Indianapolis and reserved show dates through 2015. Attendees come from all levels of the sport. From NASCAR team owners to weekend road racers, IMIS attracts motorsports professionals from around the globe.

"We're thrilled that ARCA has scheduled their banquet in conjunction with IMIS," Paulsen said. "ARCA has been a great partner and all of us at IMIS are confident that Indy will be a great home for them in the years to come."

ARCA banquet attendees will have the opportunity to reserve hotel rooms from any of the 17 IMIS partner property hotels in the downtown Indianapolis area, most of which are connected to the Indiana Convention Center by skywalks. Teams are being encouraged to book their rooms early, and can do so by logging on to the IMIS website at www.imis-indy.com and clicking the "Hotels/Travel" tab. Room reservations are also available over the phone by contacting the IMIS housing department at (317) 262-8191.

In addition, banquet attendees may attend the trade show free of charge by registering before November 6. Registration is available online at www.imis-indy.com.

With over 500 exhibitors, innovative educational opportunities, numerous social and networking events, and much more, ARCA banquet attendees who register to attend IMIS are bound to better their organizations. Attendees can spend three action-packed days with ARCA at IMIS, focusing on the hardcore motorsports industry while having fun on the side at many great new events during this year's show.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards conducts four events in the Hoosier State, including Sunday's Herr's Chase the Taste 200 at Winchester Speedway. The race will begin at 2 p.m., with live audio and timing and scoring coverage at ARCARacing.com.

ARCA also hosts two annual events at Salem Speedway, and one at Lucas Oil Raceway just outside of Indianapolis. Relocating the banquet to a state which hosts four series events is logical after a 10-year run in Covington, Ky.

2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards' 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

For additional information about IMIS, visit www.imis-indy.com or follow IMIS on Twitter at @IMIS_Indy and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/imisshow.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama's Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota's Elko Speedway for the first time.

Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.