Mike Joy
Encyclopedia
Mike Joy is an American TV sports announcer, who currently serves as the lap-by-lap voice of FOX Sports
' NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage. His color analysts are Darrell Waltrip
and Larry McReynolds
. Joy has broadcast more than 30 Daytona 500
s, NASCAR's biggest event. He also serves as Speed TV's expert analyst for their coverage of collector car auctions and vintage auto racing events.
and graduated from West Hartford, Connecticut
's Conard High School. While attending University of Hartford
and later Emerson College
, Joy began his public address work at Riverside Park Speedway in Massachusetts
in 1970.
He added Thompson Speedway in 1972 and in 1975 began working at Stafford Motor Speedway
in Connecticut
, joining Jack Arute, Jr.
, the son of the track owner, establishing the track as a hotbed for announcers. Announcing five nights per week, he was noticed by Motor Racing Network
(MRN) co-founder Ken Squier
. MRN hired him as a freelancer in 1976, full-time in 1978, and he rose to co-anchor, general manager and executive producer in January 1980. In 1981, he was the lead broadcaster for ESPN
's first live NASCAR
telecast in that November's Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta International Raceway. On weekdays, he worked in marketing for Daytona International Speedway
.
' TV coverage of the 1984 Daytona 500
, working with Ken Squier
and Ned Jarrett
. Since CBS didn't broadcast many races, he continued to broadcast for MRN.
Joy also launched The Nashville Network's NASCAR coverage in 1991, as lap-by-lap announcer, continuing through 1995, and also participated in NASCAR coverage on TBS.
In 1994, Joy was named as chief announcer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
inaugural broadcast of the Brickyard 400, holding the position through 1999.
Joy was one of the first announcers to embrace the Internet. In 1997, he encouraged Usenet and Jayski readers to e-mail TV coverage suggestions that he could present in a CBS seminar. A member of many Usenet newsgroups, he reads them for preparation for broadcasts.
In 1998, CBS made Joy their lap-by-lap announcer with Ken Squier
moving to studio host, where the pair worked until the end of 2000, when CBS lost the rights to televise NASCAR racing.
Joy's CBS career also included Formula One
, CART
, IRL, as well as coverage of the Winter Olympics, the Sun Bowl
, harness racing's Hambletonian, pro beach volleyball and World Cup Skiing, plus NCAA
championship events in soccer, swimming
and diving
, track and field
, and wrestling
.
FOX Sports
He joined FOX Sports for three years of Formula One
coverage in 1998 with Derek Bell
, and moved full-time to FOX with the NASCAR
TV package starting the 2001 season.
In September 2008, Fox sent Joy to call a Minnesota Twins
/Tampa Bay Rays
Major League Baseball game. In that game, the Rays clinched their first-ever playoff appearance.
with his wife Gaye and their two children, Scott and Kaitlyn. He restores vintage MG's, and retains his New England roots as CEO and equity partner in New England Racing Fuel, Inc., distributor of Sunoco
Race Fuels.
An avid SCCA amateur race driver, he has won events at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Pocono and New Hampshire, and raced professionally in IMSA, including the 24 Hours of Daytona
in 1993. He has tested in NASCAR stock cars and race trucks, and raced vintage TransAm cars and sports cars.
He previously had developed special events advertising for a Detroit auto manufacturer, managed and promoted a major auto racing facility, Lime Rock Park
, and served four elected terms to the Windsor, Connecticut
town council.
-calling Dale Earnhardt winning his first Daytona 500 in his 20th try, February 15, 1998.
"Here comes Earnhardt! He's all the way to the bottom! Almost in the grass! He slides up the racetrack and Jeff Gordon will win it for the second time!"
-calling Jeff Gordon beating Dale Earnhardt to the finish line to win his 2nd Daytona 500, February 14, 1999.
"What can be more fitting,What can be more special?"
-calling Kevin Harvick beating Jeff Gordon to the finish line at Atlanta, three weeks after the death of Dale Earnhardt.
"Big crash, here they come, checkered flag...Harvick! Kevin Harvick wins the Daytona 500!"
-calling Harvick's photo finish win in the 2007 Daytona 500. February 18th, 2007.
"Six cars have a chance to win it, Jeff Gordon's gonna lead them into turn four, they're one mile from home, Jeff Gordon is gonna win his 3rd Daytona 500"
-calling Jeff Gordon's 3rd Daytona victory on February 20th,2005.
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
' NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage. His color analysts are Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
and Larry McReynolds
Larry McReynolds
Lawrence Joseph McReynolds III is a former NASCAR crew chief and currently serves as a racing analyst on Fox Sports, TNT and a columnist on Foxsports.com. He currently lives in Mooresville, North Carolina...
. Joy has broadcast more than 30 Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
s, NASCAR's biggest event. He also serves as Speed TV's expert analyst for their coverage of collector car auctions and vintage auto racing events.
Early life and career
Joy was raised in Windsor, ConnecticutWindsor, Connecticut
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005....
and graduated from West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
's Conard High School. While attending University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
and later Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
, Joy began his public address work at Riverside Park Speedway in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1970.
He added Thompson Speedway in 1972 and in 1975 began working at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Motor Speedway is a semi-banked 1/2 mile paved oval located in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. It is part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. It hosts four events on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2010....
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, joining Jack Arute, Jr.
Jack Arute
Jack Arute, Jr. currently covers the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He is the president of the Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut...
, the son of the track owner, establishing the track as a hotbed for announcers. Announcing five nights per week, he was noticed by Motor Racing Network
Motor Racing Network
The Motor Racing Network is the principal radio broadcasting operation of NASCAR, promoting themselves as "The Voice of NASCAR." It broadcasts coverage of most major NASCAR races at the top three levels of NASCAR at tracks owned by International Speedway Corporation as well as Dover International...
(MRN) co-founder Ken Squier
Ken Squier
Ken Squier is an American sportscaster and motorsports editor from Waterbury, Vermont. From 1979-1997, he was the lap-by-lap commentator for NASCAR on CBS, and was also a lap-by-lap commentator for TBS from the time they had rights to NASCAR until 2000. Squier was the first announcer to give...
. MRN hired him as a freelancer in 1976, full-time in 1978, and he rose to co-anchor, general manager and executive producer in January 1980. In 1981, he was the lead broadcaster for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's first live NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
telecast in that November's Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta International Raceway. On weekdays, he worked in marketing for Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
.
1984-2000
In 1984, Joy became a pit reporter for CBSNASCAR on CBS
NASCAR on CBS was a series of NASCAR races airing on CBS Sports from 1960-2000.-Races covered by CBS:*Jiffy Lube Miami 300*Michigan 400...
' TV coverage of the 1984 Daytona 500
1984 Daytona 500
In 1984, Cale Yarborough completed a lap of , officially breaking the barrier at Daytona. He won the race for the second year in a row, and fourth time in his career, with the identical last-lap pass, this time victimizing Darrell Waltrip who would later go on to win the same race in...
, working with Ken Squier
Ken Squier
Ken Squier is an American sportscaster and motorsports editor from Waterbury, Vermont. From 1979-1997, he was the lap-by-lap commentator for NASCAR on CBS, and was also a lap-by-lap commentator for TBS from the time they had rights to NASCAR until 2000. Squier was the first announcer to give...
and Ned Jarrett
Ned Jarrett
Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...
. Since CBS didn't broadcast many races, he continued to broadcast for MRN.
Joy also launched The Nashville Network's NASCAR coverage in 1991, as lap-by-lap announcer, continuing through 1995, and also participated in NASCAR coverage on TBS.
In 1994, Joy was named as chief announcer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network , is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar, and the Brickyard 400 to radio stations covering most of North America....
inaugural broadcast of the Brickyard 400, holding the position through 1999.
Joy was one of the first announcers to embrace the Internet. In 1997, he encouraged Usenet and Jayski readers to e-mail TV coverage suggestions that he could present in a CBS seminar. A member of many Usenet newsgroups, he reads them for preparation for broadcasts.
In 1998, CBS made Joy their lap-by-lap announcer with Ken Squier
Ken Squier
Ken Squier is an American sportscaster and motorsports editor from Waterbury, Vermont. From 1979-1997, he was the lap-by-lap commentator for NASCAR on CBS, and was also a lap-by-lap commentator for TBS from the time they had rights to NASCAR until 2000. Squier was the first announcer to give...
moving to studio host, where the pair worked until the end of 2000, when CBS lost the rights to televise NASCAR racing.
Joy's CBS career also included Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, CART
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
, IRL, as well as coverage of the Winter Olympics, the Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
, harness racing's Hambletonian, pro beach volleyball and World Cup Skiing, plus NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
championship events in soccer, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
.
FOX Sports
He joined FOX Sports for three years of Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
coverage in 1998 with Derek Bell
Derek Bell (auto racer)
Derek Reginald Bell MBE is a former racing driver from England who was extremely successful in sportscar racing, winning five times at Le Mans. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams...
, and moved full-time to FOX with the NASCAR
NASCAR on Fox
NASCAR on Fox is the Emmy-winning branding used for Fox Sports's broadcasts of NASCAR races airing on the Fox network since 2001. The production has been in high-definition since 2005.-Background:...
TV package starting the 2001 season.
In September 2008, Fox sent Joy to call a Minnesota Twins
2008 Minnesota Twins season
The Minnesota Twins season was the 48th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 108th overall in the American League. After tying the Chicago White Sox for first in the AL Central Division with an 88–74 record, the team lost a one game playoff to finish second and miss the league...
/Tampa Bay Rays
2008 Tampa Bay Rays season
The Tampa Bay Rays' 2008 season, the 11th season in franchise history, marked the change of the team's name from the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays" to the "Tampa Bay Rays", as revealed on November 8, 2007. The change in name also came with a change in logo and uniforms, with new team colors of Columbia...
Major League Baseball game. In that game, the Rays clinched their first-ever playoff appearance.
Personal life
Joy resides on Lake Norman, in North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
with his wife Gaye and their two children, Scott and Kaitlyn. He restores vintage MG's, and retains his New England roots as CEO and equity partner in New England Racing Fuel, Inc., distributor of Sunoco
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
Race Fuels.
An avid SCCA amateur race driver, he has won events at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Pocono and New Hampshire, and raced professionally in IMSA, including the 24 Hours of Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...
in 1993. He has tested in NASCAR stock cars and race trucks, and raced vintage TransAm cars and sports cars.
He previously had developed special events advertising for a Detroit auto manufacturer, managed and promoted a major auto racing facility, Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lime Rock, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the village of Lakeville, Connecticut, in the state’s northwest corner...
, and served four elected terms to the Windsor, Connecticut
Windsor, Connecticut
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005....
town council.
Notable Calls
"Earnhardt uses the lapped car of Rick Mast to them... as a pick. 20 years of trying, 20 years of frustration; Dale Earnhardt will come to the caution flag to win the Daytona 500! Finally! The most anticipated moment in racing! (Later) Checkered flag! Dale Earnhardt... finally, is a champion of the Daytona 500."-calling Dale Earnhardt winning his first Daytona 500 in his 20th try, February 15, 1998.
"Here comes Earnhardt! He's all the way to the bottom! Almost in the grass! He slides up the racetrack and Jeff Gordon will win it for the second time!"
-calling Jeff Gordon beating Dale Earnhardt to the finish line to win his 2nd Daytona 500, February 14, 1999.
"What can be more fitting,What can be more special?"
-calling Kevin Harvick beating Jeff Gordon to the finish line at Atlanta, three weeks after the death of Dale Earnhardt.
"Big crash, here they come, checkered flag...Harvick! Kevin Harvick wins the Daytona 500!"
-calling Harvick's photo finish win in the 2007 Daytona 500. February 18th, 2007.
"Six cars have a chance to win it, Jeff Gordon's gonna lead them into turn four, they're one mile from home, Jeff Gordon is gonna win his 3rd Daytona 500"
-calling Jeff Gordon's 3rd Daytona victory on February 20th,2005.