NASCAR Announcer Ken Squier Passed Away
A member of the 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame class, veteran NASCAR commentator Ken Squier passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88.
In the history of NASCAR television, Ken Squier’s voice and visage are the most recognizable. The event that popularized NASCAR throughout the country, the 1979 Daytona 500, had him as the commentator.
It was the initial race in the history to be fully televised live on television. Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough wrecked during their final lap race for the lead, and 16 million spectators saw Richard Petty triumph as a heavy snowfall pounded most of the United States.
Squier is the one whose fans hear saying, “And there’s a fight, between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough,” after the two drivers got into a collision with one another. Among the most memorable in history is this particular occasion.
From 1979 to 1997, Squier was the voice of CBS’s NASCAR coverage until Mike Joy, the current NASCAR on Fox announcer, took over. Commemorations for Squier began to flood social media on Thursday morning from other NASCAR Hall of Famers.
Originally from Vermont, the man entered the broadcasting industry by building Thunder Road Speedway in his home state, which hosted weekly short-track racing events throughout the Northeast. One of the two networks that telecasts these events on radio is the Motor Racing Network, which Squier co-founded.
As a member of the 2018 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Squier is the only inductee in the Hall whose primary reason for induction is his broadcasting career. In 2012, the Squier-Hall Award was established by the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a tribute to Squier and veteran radio commentator Barney Hall. These two were the award’s first winners.
