Longtime NASCAR announcer Ken Squier died Wednesday. He was once 88.
Squier is essentially the most recognizable voice and face in NASCAR tv historical past. He was once the announcer for the 1979 Daytona 500, the race that put NASCAR at the nationwide map.
The well-known race was once the primary NASCAR race to be broadcast continue to exist tv in its entirety. As a large storm from snow had hit a lot of america, 16 million folks watched Richard Petty’s win as Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed whilst racing for the lead at the ultimate lap.
It’s Squier who audience listen exclaim “and there’s a struggle, between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison” as the 2 drivers tangled close to their crashed automobiles. The instant is among the maximum iconic in NASCAR historical past.
Squier served because the voice of CBS’ NASCAR protection from 1979 thru 1997 prior to present NASCAR on Fox announcer Mike Pleasure took over. Thursday morning, tributes to Squier from fellow NASCAR Corridor of Famers began pouring in on social media.
Ken Squier was once there when Nascar was once presented to the remainder of the arena in 1979 for the Daytona 500. I’m satisfied that race would have no longer had its lasting affect had Ken no longer been our lead narrator. We nonetheless journey the wave of that momentum created on that day. Kens phrases and…
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) November 16, 2023
Prior to coming into broadcasting, the Vermont local constructed Thunder Highway Speedway in his house state as a weekly web page for short-track racing within the Northeast. Squier could also be probably the most co-founders of the Motor Racing Community, probably the most two networks that broadcast NASCAR races at the radio.
Squier was once inducted into the NASCAR Corridor of Repute as a part of its 2018 elegance and is the one member of the NASCAR Corridor who’s enshrined basically on account of his tasks as a broadcaster. The NASCAR Corridor of Repute additionally created the Squier-Corridor Award in 2012 named in honor of Squier and longtime radio broadcaster Barney Corridor. The 2 have been the inaugural recipients of the award.
