Jeff Gordon appears to be heading toward a fifth NASCAR Cup Series championship and fans are noticing. Via online voting by sports fans, Gordon won the Best Driver Award on Wednesday night at the 15th annual ESPY Awards at Kodak Theatre. Gordon bested his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, Daytona 500 champion Kevin Harvick, IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti and NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.
"Winning an ESPY is an honor," Gordon said. "It's one of the most prestigious awards in sports. It's a credit to how the No. 24 DuPont team performed over the last year.
"Hopefully we can continue to have success through the end of this season and be in contention for next year's award as well."
"Talladega Nights," a popular comedy starring Will Farrell, gave NASCAR its second victory of the night by winning in the Best Sports Movie category. Other films in the category were "We Are Marshall," "Pride" and "Invincible."
"Clearly, the movie was terrific because of the unbelievable talents of Will Farrell, director Adam McKay and their team," said Dick Glover, NASCAR vice president for broadcasting and new media. " 'Talladega Nights' was a fun experience for both NASCAR fans and non-fans. It was a mixture of realistic racing action and hilarious comedy.
"But what's really exciting about this ESPY is the fact that fans decided the category winner. This is the best form of fan feedback you can have. In this case we know that we provided something they truly enjoyed."
Johnson, the reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, also was nominated in the Best Championship Performance category. That award went to Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. Harvick also was part of another nomination for NASCAR, in the Best Finish category. Harvick edged Mark Martin by 0.02 seconds in the Daytona 500 in February. The award went to last September's 11-10 Los Angeles Dodgers victory over the San Diego Padres, in which the Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs in the ninth inning to tie the game 9-9, then had another homer in the 10th inning to win.
Wednesday night's ceremonies will be televised at 9 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN.
"Winning an ESPY is an honor," Gordon said. "It's one of the most prestigious awards in sports. It's a credit to how the No. 24 DuPont team performed over the last year.
"Hopefully we can continue to have success through the end of this season and be in contention for next year's award as well."
"Talladega Nights," a popular comedy starring Will Farrell, gave NASCAR its second victory of the night by winning in the Best Sports Movie category. Other films in the category were "We Are Marshall," "Pride" and "Invincible."
"Clearly, the movie was terrific because of the unbelievable talents of Will Farrell, director Adam McKay and their team," said Dick Glover, NASCAR vice president for broadcasting and new media. " 'Talladega Nights' was a fun experience for both NASCAR fans and non-fans. It was a mixture of realistic racing action and hilarious comedy.
"But what's really exciting about this ESPY is the fact that fans decided the category winner. This is the best form of fan feedback you can have. In this case we know that we provided something they truly enjoyed."
Johnson, the reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, also was nominated in the Best Championship Performance category. That award went to Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. Harvick also was part of another nomination for NASCAR, in the Best Finish category. Harvick edged Mark Martin by 0.02 seconds in the Daytona 500 in February. The award went to last September's 11-10 Los Angeles Dodgers victory over the San Diego Padres, in which the Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs in the ninth inning to tie the game 9-9, then had another homer in the 10th inning to win.
Wednesday night's ceremonies will be televised at 9 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN.