NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves are among the world-class athletes nominated for The 2009 ESPYs. The ESPYs gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances.
Fans will determine the winner in 37 categories (excluding special awards) by voting online at www.espys.tv or via mobile phone at www.espn.mobi. Voting begins today and runs through 11:59 p.m. ET on July 11, and The 2009 ESPYs, hosted by Samuel L. Jackson and co-presented by Under Armour and Land Rover, will be televised Sunday, July 19, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD. A one-hour nomination show will be televised Friday, June 26, at 8 p.m. Newsday
Castroneves’ sports achievement was winning this year’s Indianapolis 500 after being acquitted of federal tax evasion charges. Also in the “best moment” category is a U.S. Olympic swimming relay team and the emotional speech Florida quarterback Tim Tebow made after his team’s only loss of the season.
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Johnson, the three-time reigning NASCAR champion, has been nominated for “best male athlete.” His competition for the award is swimmer Michael Phelps and NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Yahoo! Sports
So who’ll win the best-male award? (Assuming, of course, that NASCAR drivers are athletes, ha ha ha.) Well, each of the nominees has potential negatives—Phelps with his little bong dalliance, LeBron because he didn’t even get to the Finals, Johnson because he’s not as well known to ESPN’s target demo, and Kobe because he’s Kobe. Indianapolis Star
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