Kyle Larson wins Best Driver ESPY Award
2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion tops Max Verstappen, Steve Torrence, and Alex Palou for prestigious honor
Daytona Beach, FL (July 21, 2022) – Defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson took home some more hardware Wednesday night, winning the 2022 ESPY Award for Best Driver. Larson topped Formula 1’s Max Verstappen, IndyCar’s Alex Palou, and NHRA’s Steve Torrence for the honor.
The 2022 ESPYS aired live Wednesday on ABC from the Dolby Theater in Los Angles and was hosted by NBA Champion and Finals MVP Stephen Curry. It marked the 29th edition of the awards show celebrating the best moments and figures in sports.
Larson finished the 2021 season with 10 wins (not including his triumph in the NASCAR All-Star Race), 20 top-five finishes, and 26 top-10 showings, all the most among NASCAR Cup Series drivers. He is one of only 11 drivers to notch 10 or more victories in a season. He showed tremendous versatility, winning at road courses, intermediate ovals, and short tracks, highlighted by the Bristol Night Race, Coca-Cola 600, and NASCAR Championship Race at Phoenix.
Known for racing anytime and anywhere, Larson also won 22 dirt races in Late Models, Sprint Cars and Midgets. Most notably, he won the Chili Bowl, Knoxville Nationals, Kings Royal, and the Prairie Dirt Classic.
In typical Larson fashion, he celebrated his ESPY by winning the World of Outlaws Sprint Car race at Port Royal Speedway (Pa.) Wednesday night.
NASCAR drivers who have earned the Best Driver ESPY in the past include Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.
Larson takes the seat of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet next in Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
Sources: NASCAR PRAVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 07: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, poses for photos after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 07, 2021, in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)