In a sport dominated by horsepower and heart, the broadcasters represent invisible engines driving every race into our living rooms. From calling wrecks in real time to narrating tales of grit on the track, NASCAR commentators embody the voices of the sport’s soul. They do more than report the action; they enhance it, wrapping every lap in drama, detail, and history. Whether it be Ken Squier’s poetic calls or Allen Bestwick’s smooth cadence, great broadcasters have often become just as iconic as the drivers they cover.
Among those voices, Mike Joy stands tall. An authoritative yet affable voice who has called over 800 Cup Series races in five decades. But while many fans know Joy as the long-time FOX Sports anchor and NASCAR encyclopedia, few realize that stock car racing’s first impression on him was not exactly flattering. In fact, he rejected it.
Mike Joy was a little late to the stock car racing party
After graduating from Conard High School, Joy would have his stint behind the wheel as a racer, not as an announcer. At the time, a young 20-year-old Mike Joy was interested in Formula and Trans-AM racing, not cars going around in circles. But Ed Carroll, who owned the Riverside Speedway Park, wanted Joy to join the booth as the assistant announcer for a modified race on a Saturday night. At the time, Joy wasn’t sold on stock car racing, and he turned down this offer.
“I said, look, I’m in Formula One, Trans Am, Can-Am… This is a bunch of jalopies! And all they do is turn left.” Then comes destiny kicking in through the back door, courtesy of PR man Joe Mahoney, who invited him just to watch a Saturday night race. Thus, there was really nothing that would bind him to actually going.
What transpired was an awakening! “I’m watching 60 modifieds trying for 20 spots in the 50-lap feature,” Joy revealed in an interview with Kevin Harvick. “Banging wheels and banging off the concrete wall, coming to the finish line. 6000 people are jumping up and down yelling and screaming. And I went—yeah, this is big.” At the time, Joy was attending the University of Hartford. But that night at Riverside Speedway Park left a lasting impression on the young announcer, which led to his glorious NASCAR career.
Bildnummer: 09509256 Datum: 20.01.2012 Copyright: imago/Icon SMI
JAN 20, 2012: Mike Joy during the NASCAR Motorsport USA Hall Of Fame Inductions. NASCAR Motorsport USA JAN 20 Hall Of Fame Inductions – Class Of 2012 PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxONLY Icon201201200181; x0x xng 2012 quer
Image number 09509256 date 20 01 2012 Copyright imago Icon Smi Jan 20 2012 Mike Joy during The Nascar motor aviation USA Hall of Fame Inductions Nascar motor aviation USA Jan 20 Hall of Fame Inductions Class of 2012 PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxONLY x0x 2012 horizontal
Image Credits – Imago
“This was 1970. I was 20 years old, had almost no idea what I was doing. But gosh, it was fun.” He would go on to work under Ken Squier and with Jack Arute at Stafford. “They had microphones all around the track… turn announcers, pit reporters, just like MRN. And Jackie was working for MRN, which, of course, Ken Squier started. And then they kind of brought me along as a weekend turn announcer.“
That period of “deficit announcing”, as he called it, was anything but glamorous. Small checks and travel expenses on them, but it’s pure gold for the experience. “We don’t go home with less money than we left with. But wow, what an education.” It’s fair to say he’s out of the deficit with his storied career as a veteran announcer in the FOX booth. Well, he did have an epic NASCAR debut race to call that coincided with Dale Earnhardt’s most special win in NASCAR.
Joy had a dream NASCAR debut
After working as a part-timer with MRN as a pit reporter, Joy finally got his big break to announce a NASCAR race in 1998. He joined Ken Squire in the CBS booth, and his first race would be the 1998 Daytona 500. This was a time when Dale Earnhardt was on a 59-race winless streak, and despite winning seven championships, he was still hunting the Daytona 500 trophy.
“20 years of trying, 20 years of frustration, Dale Earnhardt will come to the caution to win the Daytona 500.” Mike Joy narrated these lines, and since then, it has become a part of NASCAR folklore. Over the years, he would go on to work with the likes of Michael Waltrip, Larry McReynolds, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart. Now, he works in a trio alongside Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick, calling the 14 Cup Series races in the FOX booth. The veteran announcer has seen a ton of drivers and personalities throughout his career, but one driver in particular from this generation has stood out for him. One he thinks could be the next big star.
“Christopher Bell, wow. He will be a champion of this sport. I have no doubt. I really wish he’d have the chance to run for last year. You know, Martinsville got in the way, the way he handled that and the way he made his point about whether things were fair or not, without taking on NASCAR, I think really elevated his status in the garage.” Joy added.
Well, the JGR driver has fired off pretty well with three wins already under his belt this season. Now the real challenge for the #20 team will be to repeat these heroics in the playoffs, as for the time being, their job in the regular season is done.
The post NASCAR Broadcaster Reminiscences of Snubbing Jalopies Only to Get Hooked by the Mayhem appeared first on EssentiallySports.