No, the year when there were 2 NHRA Drivers nominated, it was clearly done to split the NHRA votes so NASCAR, F1 or Indy would win hands down even though their years may have been "Meh"
Smoke clearly got hot at the right moment and won the Final race to clinch. John Force winning in 2010 was a major story across motorsports in general. 3 years made the story going back to the Dallas 07 Crash. Jimmie Johnson & Chad Knaus didn't win much in the Chase that year. ESPN knew that, that's why they put Anderson in as well to split the votes so Jimmie would get the ESPY.
I believe the ESPY's motive is to have the "Popular Sports" win (particularly in the "Best Driver" category) never mind statistics and facts showing otherwise. They knew Force had it better hand over fist, had they NOT put Greg in. Take all those votes give it to Force. Certainly would've got the award.