NASCAR
Visionary NASCAR Broadcaster, Hall of Famer, Ken Squier Dies at Age 88
The most legendary name in NASCAR broadcasting and commentating bar none has passed away. At the age of 88 years, Ken Squier died Wednesday night at his home in Vermont.
A countless legion of race fans have heard Squier’s dulcet tones beautifully paint the pictures of stock car racing on radio and television in an unmatched career. Squier began his Hall of Fame journey on short tracks peppering Vermont, eventually finding his way south to NASCAR country. Along with NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., Squier founded the Motor Racing Network (MRN) radio station in 1970. To this day, MRN is still the radio broadcast partner for NASCAR, being ‘The Voice of NASCAR,’ on a near-weekly basis.
“Though he never sat behind the wheel of a stock car, Ken Squier contributed to the growth of NASCAR as much as any competitor,” said Chairman and CEO Jim France. “Ken was a superb storyteller and his unmistakable voice is the soundtrack to many of NASCAR’s greatest moments. His calls on TV and radio brought fans closer to the sport, and for that he was a fan favorite. Ken knew no strangers, and he will be missed by all. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I offer my condolences to the family and friends of Ken Squier.”
Squier was a pit reporter for NASCAR’s first foray into live television, the 1971 Greenville 200, aired on ABC. Eight years later though is where Squier’s legacy was permanently enshrined as a legend of his craft.
Squier was influential in convincing CBS to broadcast the entirety of the 1979 Daytona 500. After a historic snowstorm shut down much of the east coast, over 15 million people tuned in to see The King Richard Petty take win number six in what Squier dubbed ‘The Great American Race.’ Mere moments behind proclaiming “Petty wins it” though, Squier was thrust into calling color commentary for a fight between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison. Both drivers emerged from their wrecked cars in turn three after they crashed battling for the victory. Squier’s signature line “And there’s a fight…” lives on in NASCAR lore to this day. The fight made headlines the nation over and elevated NASCAR into a previously unseen spotlight.
Over the next two decades, Squier was a mainstay in television, putting on headsets for CBS and later TBS. Squier’s final broadcast as the leading man in the booth may have been in 1997, but he remained ever-present in the sport with his vast vocabulary and artistic flair. NBC Sports even invited Squier to commentate on a few Throwback Weekend Southern 500 broadcasts in recent years.
Prior to being inducted himself in 2018, Squier received a great recognition from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Every year alongside the new members, a media representative receives the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.
As recently as the past year, Squier told his story in his own words through podcasting. Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Dirty Mo Media sent a crew up to Vermont to talk with the living legend in a long form sit down interview.
Squier set an impossibly high bar for every broadcaster, commentator, and media reporter in his wake to try and meet. Current television and radio personalities Mike Joy (Fox Sports) and Dave Moody (MRN Radio) both credit Squier with imparting his wisdom onto them. The voice of racing for multiple generations of fans may be gone, but his students are still very much here. His legacy will without a doubt far outlive him. We will all dearly miss Kenley Dean, his unparalleled wit, and his ability to make ‘common men doing uncommon things’ understandable for untold masses.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
