Best Driver ESPY Award Awarded for Racing driver of the year Location Los Angeles (2019) Presented by ESPN First awarded 1993 Currently held by Max Verstappen Website www .espn .co .uk /espys /
The Best Driver ESPY Award , known alternatively as the Best Auto Racing Driver ESPY Award , is an annual award honoring the achievements of an individual from the world of motorsports .[ 1] It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 1993.[ 1] The Best Driver ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan ,[ 2] has been presented annually to the racing driver adjudged to have performed the best in a given calendar year .[ 1] Since 2004, the winner has been chosen by online voting through three to five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee.[ 3] Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts.[ 4] Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.[ n 1] [ 5]
The inaugural winner of the award was British driver Nigel Mansell who finished the 1992 season with a then record-breaking nine wins and fourteen pole positions en route to winning his sole Formula One World Drivers' Championship .[ 6] [ 7] Mansell moved to the Championship Auto Racing Teams the following year, and won the series title at the first attempt,[ 8] earning him a second ESPY Award in 1994.[ 6] Mansell is one of six drivers to have won the award more than once. As of 2022[update] , multiple NASCAR Cup Series champions Jeff Gordon (1996, 1998, 1999, 2007) and his teammate Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) have won the most awards with four each. NASCAR drivers have won more awards than any other motorsports series, with nineteen victories, followed by Formula One with five wins. It was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 9] The most recent winner of the award was Formula One driver Max Verstappen who won the award in 2024 .
Winners and nominees [ edit ] ^ Because of the rescheduling of the ESPY Awards ceremony, the award presented in 2002 was given in consideration of performance betwixt Fethbruary 2001 and June 2002.[ 5] ^ a b c Nelson, Murry R. (2013). American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols and Ideas . Santa Barbara, California : ABC-CLIO . pp. 399–401. ISBN 978-0-313-39753-0 . Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015 . ^ Avard, Christian (August 2, 2013). "Sculptor commissioned to complete Joe Frazier statue has died" . Barre Montpelier Times Argus . Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2018 . ^ "The 2004 ESPY Awards - Fans to decide all 2004 ESPY Award winners" . ESPN . Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018 . ^ "Committee is newly found" . ESPN. February 3, 1999. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018 . ^ a b "New categories unveiled for The 2002 ESPY Awards" (Press release). ESPN. 2002. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ a b c d e "Stewart named ESPY 'Driver of the Year.' " . crash.net. July 18, 2003. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Rider, Steve (April 10, 2013). "F1 Legends - Nigel Mansell" . Sky Sports . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Allen, James (May 23, 2013). "Mansell's Indy 500 near-miss" . Autosport . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ a b Messer, Lesley (June 19, 2020). "7 ways the 2020 ESPYS will be different amid the pandemic" . Good Morning America . Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020 . ^ "ESPY nominees" . Bluefield Daily Telegraph . Vol. 101, no. 21. Associated Press . January 21, 1995. p. 7. Retrieved April 12, 2018 – via Newspaper Archive. ^ McKee, Sandra (February 17, 1996). "Calm in the fast lane Jeff Gordon: Only 24, the Winston Cup champion returns eager and focused to show last season was for real" . The Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Sun Staff and Wire Reports (February 11, 1997). "Sports Briefs: LV's Vasser wins auto racing ESPY" . Las Vegas Sun . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "Labonte brothers start Daytona racing week in style" . The Grapevine Sun . Vol. 103, no. 13. February 12, 1998. p. 3B. Retrieved February 8, 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com. ^ "McGwire captures three ESPY awards" . Lubbock Avalanche-Journal . Associated Press. February 16, 1999. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin Nominated for ESPYs" . motorsport.com . December 17, 1998. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. ^ Buck, Ron (February 14, 2000). "Daily Dish: Dale & Dale show at the ESPYs" . ESPN. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Kelly, Kevin (February 12, 2001). "Newman earns 4th win in 6 ARCA tries" . San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Armijo, Mark (June 21, 2002). "Schumacher is top ESPY nominee" . Arizona Republic . p. 46. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com . ^ D. Berto, Victor (July 21, 2003). "Tony Stewart wins the ESPY Awards" (in Portuguese). F1 Mania. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Vega, Michael (July 17, 2004). "New rule gets green light" . The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Lewandowski, Dave (July 13, 2005). "Drivers proud of ESPY nominations" . Indy Racing League . Archived from the original on December 2, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "2006 ESPY Awards Winners; Steelers earn best team kudo" . Variety . July 12, 2006. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "Nominees Announced and Fan Voting Begins for 14th Annual ESPYs" . ESPN. June 28, 2006. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "Gordon Talladega Nights Win Espys" . Motor Racing Network . July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Heath, Mitch (July 17, 2008). "Jimmie Johnson Wins ESPN ESPY" . Bleacher Report . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "Johnson repeats as Best Driver in ESPYs" (Press release). Hendrick Motorsports . July 16, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Martel, Charles (July 15, 2010). "Donovan, Brees Most Awarded in ESPY's Awards 2010" . WWNN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "Friday Top News; Jimmie Johnson Wins "Best Driver" ESPY" . Frontstretch. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "Stewart wins 2012 'Best Driver' ESPY Award" (Press release). NASCAR. July 12, 2012. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ DiZinno, Tony (July 18, 2013). "Hunter-Reay wins ESPY for Best Driver, first for IndyCar since 1997" . NBC Sports . Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "IndyCar: Hunter-Reay joins title hunt after post-Indy depression comes to end" . Fox Sports . July 17, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ DeGroot, Nick (July 16, 2015). "Harvick wins ESPY for 'Best Driver' " . motorsport.com . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Larson, Mike (July 14, 2016). "NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch wins 'Best Driver' ESPY" . Autoweek . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ "ESPY Awards: Complete Winners List" . The Hollywood Reporter . July 12, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017 . ^ Albert, Zack (July 19, 2018). "Martin Truex Jr. named Best Driver at ESPY Awards" . NASCAR. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018 . ^ "Kyle Busch Adds Another ESPY Award to Trophy Case" . Motor Racing Network. July 11, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019 . ^ "Kilgore's Steve Torrence among 4 finalists for 'Best Driver' at 2019 ESPY Awards" . KYTX . June 25, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019 . ^ "2021 ESPYs Award Winners" . ESPN . July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021 . ^ "The 2022 ESPYS Nominees" . espnpressroom.com . June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022 . ^ "2022 ESPYS: Full list of award winners" . ESPN.com . July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022 . ^ "2023 ESPYS: Full list of award winners" . ESPN.com . July 13, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023 . ^ "The 2023 ESPYS Nominees" . ESPN Press Room U.S . Retrieved August 26, 2023 . ^ "The 2024 ESPYS Nominees" . espnpressroom.com . June 26, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024 . ^ "2024 ESPYS: Here is the list of winners" . ESPN.com . July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024 .
Cross-cutter Individual Former Ceremonies