Sports

<< Previous   of   Next >> Getty Images for NASCAR  (click to enlarge) Kyle Busch (18) leads Juan Pablo Montoya at Infineon on Sunday, June 22, 2008.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, July 3, 2008 NASCAR drivers nominated for ESPY Awards Herald news services DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There are five NASCAR-related nominations for this year’s 16th annual ESPY Awards. Kyle Busch, this season’s hottest driver, is involved in three of the five. An interesting aside: One of those nominations resulted from Busch losing a race. At last summer’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway, Jamie McMurray edged Busch for the victory by a margin of only .005-seconds, the second-closest margin since NASCAR instituted electronic scoring in 1993. That spectacular under-the-lights ending has been nominated in the “Best Finish” category. Busch also is nominated in the “Best Breakthrough Athlete” category and, not surprisingly, in the “Best Driver” category. Two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and NASCAR rookie Dario Franchitti also are nominated for Best Driver. Franchitti’s nomination was based primarily on his splendid 2007 season in open-wheel racing, when he won the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship. The “2008 ESPYs co-presented by HUMMER and Under Armour” will be held July 16 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. This marks the first time for the show at the Nokia Theatre, following a six-year run at the Kodak Theatre. The show – hosted annually by ESPN – will be televised on Sunday, July 20 at 9 p.m. (ET) on ESPN and ESPN HD, hosted by Justin Timberlake. All awards are determined by an online fan vote. In the Best Finish category, the McMurray-Busch finish is up against the following competition: -- Western Kentucky’s first round NCAA basketball tournament win over Drake, on a last-second 3-pointer; -- The San Antonio Spurs beating the Phoenix Suns in two overtimes, on a basket with 1.8 seconds left; -- The Pittsburgh Penquins’ three-overtime NHL victory over the Detroit Red Wings. In the Best Breakthrough Athlete category, Busch – the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point leader – is joined by: -- Minnesota Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson; -- Davidson College basketball standout Stephen Curry; -- Ana Ivanovic, currently the No.1-ranked women’s tennis player in the world. And in the Best Driver category, Busch, Johnson and Franchitti are joined by: -- Lewis Hamilton of Formula One; -- 2008 Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon; -- Four-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher. Fans can vote on-line for their favorites in all ESPY categories by going to: http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/specialsection/espys2008/#/voting.

1. Girl's death in car crash stuns Granite Falls 2. 787 starts ‘final gantlet' of tests before first flight 3. Inmates to help families of police 4. Lewd baristas face stricter rules 5. Swine flu shots to be available to all in county 6. Woman who died in fire named 7. Roe picked as interim prosecutor 8. Gregoire's budget offers no easy way out of deficit 9. Payout of $44.7 million to clean up Asarco contamination in Everett 10. Roche Harbor's second derby a big hit 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Zambian woman thanks students for their help • Food banks see rise in use • ‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds • Wolfpack takes aim at state • Seahawks help students smile • 95 and still volunteering • Sno-King joined by local TV king • Veterans back for Wildcats • Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap • Snohomish County offers the best and most affordable venues for conferen ... • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed