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FEATURE INTERVIEWS:

Fox Sports’ NASCAR Announcer – Mike Joy:

This week I got to check off one of my long term bucket list interviews and sat down to talk with Fox Sports racing announcer Mike Joy, who along with color analysts Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick brings the racing action into sharp focus for those of us watching from home. Mike’s ability to break down a situation while adding suspense and anticipation thrills viewers during the race while deferring to the expertise of those around him with ease. I have long wanted to find out his history and where he developed the skills he displays on screen.

Mike Joy was born in Chicago but was raised just north of Hartford, Connecticut. He remembers mostly four door family cars when he was younger but had the distinction of being the first “two car” family on the block when mom got her set of wheels. He then realized that a car equaled freedom and this planted the seed of automotive desire but, it was a while before he was exposed to the hot rod influences of the 50’s and 60s.

In college he found out that they had a sports car club and he obtained tickets for the stock car races at a local track. He and some friends hung out and soon he was doing some announcing at the autocross track for the fun of it. The owner of the track heard him and offered to pay him but Mike did not think that was the way to make money and turned him down. The track owner was persistent and invited him back for the main races. After watching the destruction that happened he was hooked and started announcing and filled in when the main voice was out for the night at Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Massachusetts.

Mike liked the action and drama of sports but auto racing appealed to him more as it was a mind game and a large athletic person could still be beat by shorter less physically agile person through the use of strategy and skill. It leveled the playing field and made all drivers equal except for mental acuity.

Mike has now been announcing for over fifty years at networks like CBS, MRN (Motor Racing Network), and now FOX. He has interviewed in the pits of Daytona and the streets of the Great American Race, from Formula One to NASCAR, and is well known as the voice of racing. He has interviewed legends and has had the front seat to some amazing and horrific events. Mike has lived a life many imagine but few will live and has the history on tape to prove it all.

When Fox News decides to do something it usually rocks the boat in some aspect and tries to do things different. When it came to setting up the NASCAR race coverage they also did it differently. Mike said that instead of a normal anchor centered production that was fed by analysts, they used the analysts as the main show. The gathered a panel of experts in different aspects of the sport so they had driver, team owner, and technician roles to provide accurate commentary live and direct. This combination has been working very well for the network and for Mike and he is learning and having fun with fellow commentators and former drivers Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer.

You can follow Mike on X at Twitter.com/MikeJoy500. Mike also hosts his own YouTube channel where he shares his automotive passion while he and his son fix vintage race cars or Camaros. You can check it out at YouTube.com/@Joy-Riding.

Thanks Mike!