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Ken Squier | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenley Dean Squier (1935-04-10)April 10, 1935 Waterbury, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | November 15, 2023(2023-11-15) (aged 88) Stowe, Vermont, U.S. |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Known for | Commentator onMRN,CBS Sports andTBS forNASCAR races |
Kenley Dean Squier (April 10, 1935 – November 15, 2023) was an Americansportscaster andmotorsports editor fromWaterbury, Vermont. From 1979 to 1997, he served as the lap-by-lap commentator forNASCAR on CBS, and was also a lap-by-lap commentator forTBS from 1983–1999. Squier was the first announcer to give lap-by-lap commentary for theDaytona 500 in 1979. He coined the term "The Great American Race" for the Daytona 500 and helped introduce the Australian-developed in-car camera for the1982 running of the event.[1] He lived inStowe, Vermont until his death.
Squier's father, Lloyd, owned and operatedWDEV inWaterbury, Vermont, and Ken began his on-air work at age 12. When Lloyd Squier died in 1979, Ken Squier inherited the station and was its longtime principal owner and CEO.[2] Squier's racing-announcing career began when he announced a stock car race from the back of an old logging truck at a tiny dirt track inVermont at age 14.[3] He was the announcer at Malletts Bay, the Northeastern Speedway, and the Monadnock Speedway in the 1950s. In 1960 he openedThunder Road International SpeedBowl, theBarre, Vermont, quarter-mile oval, which was subsequently sold in April 2017.[4][5]
Squier was among a group of six men who founded Catamount Stadium inMilton, Vermont, which operated from 1965–1987. He was a frequent announcer at this track, dubbed "The Home of the Brave".
Squier co-founded theMotor Racing Network withBill France, Sr. in 1970. He announced races on the network for several years before moving to television in the later 1970s.
Squier served as a pit reporter for the first live "flag-to-flag" coverage of theGreenville 200 onABC in 1971[citation needed] and he joinedCBS Sports a year later.[6]
Squier believed that people would watch the entire Daytona 500. "It was a tough sell," he said. "There was a general feeling that this was more of a novelty thing and that it wouldn't work on a national level."[7] On February 18, 1979, CBS aired the1979 running of the "Great American Race" flag-to-flag. Television ratings were high, in part because a major snowstorm on the East Coast kept millions of viewers indoors.Richard Petty won the race, but a fight betweenDonnie Allison andCale Yarborough made headlines throughout the United States.
For the next 20 years, beginning in 1981, various TV stations would get NASCAR coverage on various tracks: CBS,TBS,TNN,ESPN, ABC, andNBC. Squier would work for CBS and TBS over this time, covering half of theWinston Million races—the Daytona 500 andCoca-Cola 600.
Squier stepped down as a lap-by-lap announcer on CBS in 1997 and was replaced in the booth byMike Joy. Squier had announced every Daytona 500 from 1979 to 1997. He remained as TBS' lead commentator until retiring in 1999, withAllen Bestwick replacing him. Squier became the studio host for both networks, where he remained until 2000. Squier was also present in theFox Sports studio during pre-race and post-race coverage ofDaytona Speedweeks and the2001 Daytona 500, as well as the first-ever regular seasonWinston Cup Series event televised by Fox.
On July 13, 2014,NASCAR on TNT broadcast its final race at the Camping World RV Sales 301. After the pre-race show, Squier said goodbye toNASCAR on TNT in this speech:
Hello everyone, I'm Ken Squier. And as the engines have fired at New Hampshire, I remind you that this is the final NASCAR broadcast forTurner Sports. I was the play-by-play announcer for TBS for 18 years. Beginning in the very first year of NASCAR coverage, 1983. It's been a real honor to be a part of today's broadcast, and I wish my colleagues the very best today on TNT. As this amazing, 32-year run comes to a close, I hope you enjoy today's race.
In September 2015, it was announced Squier would call part of theBojangles' Southern 500 race as part of a throwback weekend for NASCAR to celebrate the years 1970–1974. Squier was joined byNed Jarrett and his sonDale Jarrett. As part of the deal with Darlington with its throwback theme for the next several years, the trio called part of the race again in 2016 as the years 1975–1984 were celebrated. They returned in the same capacity for 2017.[8] Squier got some media reaction after nicknamingErik Jones "That Jones Boy" for his top 5 streak.
Squier's unique broadcasting style featured grandiose words and colorful metaphors. He often described NASCAR drivers in his era as "common men doing uncommon things". He called a last-lap battle at the 1979 Daytona 500 as "two of the greatest, fiddling, fidgeting with first place" and summed up Dale Earnhardt's wreck at the1997 Daytona 500 with: "A true American hero, stymied another time at Daytona." His many catchphrases included describing wrecks as "side over side, end over end" and calling wrecked racecars "all torn up". A battle for position involving a large pack of cars drew comparisons to "an Oklahoma land rush." Drivers battling side by side would be "door handle to door handle" or "knuckle to knuckle". He was also known for the ability to switch between the "radio" style of broadcasting and "TV" styles. One of the best-known examples was the 1981Talladega 500, when with a handful of laps to go the video went out and only the audio remained. Squier called the final laps and describedRon Bouchard's upset victory in typical style: "Three cars came out of the tri-oval, lined up like a squadron ofP-51s out of World War Two and down they came to the line!"
Squier announced CBS Sports' occasionalCART IndyCar broadcasts in the 1990s as well as hosted the1982 Individual Speedway World Championship from theLos Angeles Coliseum alongside four-timeSpeedway World ChampionBarry Briggs of New Zealand and pit reporterDave Despain. Squier hosted CBS' "live flag-to-flag" coverage of AmericanFormula One races in the 1980s (e.g. Detroit, Dallas) along withDavid Hobbs and pit reporterChris Economaki.[9]
Squier also announced a wide range of sports outside of auto racing, includingice skating,golf, andtennis.[10] He announced outside of the United States, including Australia, Japan, and Europe.[10] He was a play-by-play announcer for CBS' United States coverage of the1992 and1994 Winter Olympics.[11] In 2013, he was an announcer on the television showR U Faster Than a Redneck?.
Squier contractedCOVID-19 in November 2020.[12] After long-term rehabilitation, Squier recovered from his illness by April 2021.[13]
Squier died from complications of an intestinal blockage inStowe, Vermont, on November 15, 2023. He was 88.[14]
Squier acted in several movies, primarily as an announcer.
...Ken Squire, who has been with the network since 1972...