Each year cable sports giant ESPN hosts the ESPY Awards. The ESPY Award (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance. NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson and rising star Trevor Bayne have been nominated for the prestigious award albeit in different categories. Time to show your pride NASCAR fans! Johnson received two ESPY Award nominations, Male Athlete of the Year and Driver of the Year, while Bayne’s Daytona 500 win is up for “Top Moment.”
Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Johnson was nominated for two categories (Best Driver and Best Male Athlete). ESPN officials said he could become the first driver from any form of motorsport to win “Best Male Athlete.” Nominees for best male athlete include tennis star Rafael Nadal, the NBA’s Dirk Nowitzki, and Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Other drivers nominated for “Best Driver” honors include 15-time National Hot Rod Association Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion John Force, NHRA Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson and three-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti.
“An ESPY is truly a prestigious award,” said track president Matthew Becherer. “Having one of NASCAR’s best represented in the top category is a testament to the hard work and athleticism needed to compete in NASCAR.”
“And you can’t say enough about Trevor. His first Sprint Cup Series start came right here at Homestead-Miami Speedway last fall; wins the Daytona 500 and now he’s up for an ESPY. Amazing!”
Jimmie Johnson entered 2010 Ford Championship Weekend in a different position than those of years past—that is to say, trailing in the points standings. To capture the Sprint Cup for a fifth consecutive season, the No. 48 had to take an aggressive approach. And in doing so, he captured the first come-from-behind Championship in the seven-year life of the Chase For The Sprint Cup Championship—all hosted by Homestead-Miami Speedway.
On a late November Sunday afternoon in South Florida, Johnson prevailed as the NASCAR Champion for an unprecedented fifth straight season. The championship also elevated Hendrick Motorsports to the all-time leader in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships with 10 titles to its credit. Hendrick Motorsports also became one of just four teams in major professional sports to have scored five or more titles consecutively. The National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics posted eight titles in a row starting with the 1958-59 season and ending in 1965-66. NASCAR’s dynasty also tied Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, which earned five World Series rings from 1949-53, and the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens, which won five Stanley Cups from 1956-60.
Bayne’s surprising victory in this year’s Daytona 500 is nominated for “Top Moment.” Bayne recaptured the magic of the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford that won the Daytona 500 four times (1963, 1968, 1972, and 1976). On the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag finish at Daytona, Bayne crossed the finish line .118 seconds ahead of Carl Edwards, returning the Wood Brothers to Victory Lane at Daytona for the first time since 1976 with 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson aboard the famed No. 21. Bayne became the first driver to win the Daytona 500 in his first attempt since Lee Petty won the inaugural event in 1959. By winning in his second start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Bayne tied Jamie McMurray for quickest victory at the start of a career.
Voting ends July 9th. Click on the link to vote, http://espn.go.com/espys/#!/voting/