Photos for Headline Surfer / Pics credit NASCAR via Getty Images / Top & Below: Kyle Larson celebrates the 2021 NASCAR Cup Championship.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – 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.
Kyle 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 tops 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.
Kyle 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 tops 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.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: