While the grilling sound of engines and roars of the crowd fills the speedways during a race, the voice of the commentator is what holds it all together. And who is the first name we recall when speaking of NASCAR commentary? That’s right—Mike Joy it is. The veteran announcer is the unofficial voice of NASCAR and has experienced the highest of the highs along with the struggles that the sport is going through today.
However, his debut in the CBS booth as an announcer is linked to a major event that is a part of NASCAR folklore. And for Joy, the 1998 Daytona 500 will always remain etched in his memory. Despite winning seven NASCAR championships and levelling the record with Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt was still on the hunt for his first Daytona 500 triumph. At the time, Mike Joy didn’t know that he would go on to become the iconic voice as he witnessed the Intimidator break his 59-race win streak. Yeah, even the great Dale Sr. went through a rough patch, but it was all worth it when he finally lifted the Harley J. Earl Trophy in 1998. And Mike Joy was there to witness it on his debut booth appearance.
“20 years of trying, 20 years of frustration, Dale Earnhardt will come to the caution to win the Daytona 500. Finally! The most anticipated moment in racing. If John Elway could win the Super Bowl, Dale Earnhardt said he could win the Daytona 500.” These are the words that ring in our minds when we remember the historic moment, and it was Joy who narrated the symphony of the final laps. But how did the veteran announcer get this big break, and how did he land in the CBS booth? Well, hear this story from the man himself.
This week, Mike Joy sat down with Kevin Harvick’s podcast, Happy Hour by NASCAR on FOX, to recall the walks of the winding road that named him the voice of this sport. “At the end of the ’78 season, Jackie was running MRN and wanted to bring me to Daytona to work with him. But unfortunately, with a small staff, he couldn’t add another person. So Jim Foster—our boss, and the VP of NASCAR and International Speedway Corp—said, ‘We’ll hire you as a stock car racing publicity person for Daytona. And on the weekends, you can go broadcast for MRN.’
This was his entryway into radio. However, commentary was a long way to go. “As soon as I left Daytona, CBS called. And they said, ‘We couldn’t talk to you while you were running the radio network. We couldn’t do that to NASCAR. But now that you’re not, we want you on our team.’ And I joined CBS in ’83 as a pit reporter and was in the pits there for 17 years.”
It was from the word go that Mike Joy got his due to sit in the commentary box, voicing Dale Earnhardt’s win. “At the end of 1997, when Ken Squier stepped aside from anchoring on CBS, they moved me into the host role. They moved me into the anchoring seat. And of course, the first race I get to call is Dale Earnhardt’s Daytona 500 win. That’s the clip that resonates and follows me everywhere I go.”
While remembering the good old days of NASCAR, Joy also touched upon the problem statement that NASCAR as a sport is facing right now.
Mike Joy feels NASCAR hasn’t catered to the younger audiences
It has to be noted that NASCAR is well past its heyday. Gone are the days of the 90s and the 2000s when Fortune 500 companies would line up to be on a race car. Win on Sunday and sell on Monday – this model has taken a back seat, while NASCAR is grappling to find its relevancy in the ever-changing sports landscape. Now, an argument can be made that there is a lack of personality in the Cup garage, and the sport hasn’t seen another Dale Sr. or Jeff Gordon in that time. Yet, Joy didn’t hold back in calling out the top brass at NASCAR for failing to tap into the young audience.
“We have eighteen and twenty year olds coming into the Cup Series and making a mark. The fanbase is getting older. We’re not attracting a younger fanbase that we need to move this sport forward into the next decade.” Well, he has a valid point. You have the likes of Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, and John Hunter Nemechek, all in their twenties, yet they aren’t as popular as a younger Jeff Gordon or Dale Sr. would be.
It’s not that NASCAR has not tried to bridge this gap. Only recently, they’ve ramped up this effort by collaborating with streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, the latter is a part of NASCAR’s broadcast deal. At a time when F1, despite having three events in US, has seen massive success, while NASCAR, being the homegrown series has just played second fiddle in terms of popular culture and relevancy among the younger audience.
Given that NASCAR is making massive strides with their efforts, the next five years or so will be crucial for the sport.
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