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Mike Joy | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Joy at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2019 | |
| Born | Michael Kinsey Joy Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | TV sports announcer |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Known for | Commentator onFox Sports forNASCAR events andBarrett-Jackson collector car auctions |
| Spouse | Gaye Joy |
| Children | 2 |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport | NASCAR |
| Employer | CBS (1983–2000) TNN (1991–2000) FOX (1998–present) |
Michael Kinsey Joy is an American TV sports announcer and businessman who serves as the play-by-play commentator forFox Sports'NASCAR coverage. His color analysts areClint Bowyer andKevin Harvick. Joy has been part of the live broadcast crew for 45Daytona 500s (7 for theMotor Racing Network, 17 forCBS and 21 for FOX). He also serves as expert analyst for A&E NetworksHistory Channel and FYI live TV coverage of collector car auctions.
Michael Kinsey Joy was born inChicago, Illinois to M. Verne Joy and Jean Peters Joy, the oldest of their four children. He was raised inWindsor, Connecticut, and graduated fromWest Hartford, Connecticut'sConard High School. His career began as a public address announcer atRiverside Park Speedway inAgawam, Massachusetts in 1970 while attending theUniversity of Hartford and laterEmerson College.He addedThompson Speedway in 1972 and in 1975 began working atStafford Motor Speedway inConnecticut, joiningJack Arute Jr., the son of the track owner, establishing the track as a hotbed for announcers. Announcing five nights per week, he was noticed byMotor Racing Network (MRN) co-founderKen Squier.[1] MRN hired him as a freelancer in 1975, then full-time in late 1978, working weekdays in marketing forDaytona International Speedway.[1] He rose to co-anchor, general manager and executive producer of MRN in January 1980. In 1981, he was the lead broadcaster forESPN's first liveNASCAR telecast in that November'sAtlanta Journal 500 atAtlanta International Raceway.[1][2]
In June 1983, Joy became a pit reporter forCBS' coverage, working withKen Squier andNed Jarrett.[1] Since CBS didn't broadcast many races, he also continued to broadcast for MRN radio.[1] Joy also launchedThe Nashville Network's NASCAR coverage in 1991, as lap-by-lap announcer,[1] continuing through 1995, and also participated in live NASCAR coverage on TBS.
In 1998, after 15 years on pit road,CBS Sports made Joy their lap-by-lap announcer withKen Squier becoming the studio host, where the pair worked until the end of 2000, when CBS lost the rights to televise NASCAR racing.
Joy joinedFox Sports in 1998 to become the lead announcer ofFormula One coverage onFox Sports Net, withDerek Bell as expert analyst. For the 2001 season, he moved full-time toFox with theNASCAR TV package. Joy teamed with Hall of Fame driverDarrell Waltrip and former crew chiefLarry McReynolds to form the network's broadcast team.
Joy, Waltrip, and McReynolds completed 15 years together in 2015. Four-time NASCAR championJeff Gordon joined Joy and Waltrip in the FOX-TV booth beginning 2016, with McReynolds moving to a new role as race strategist andrules analyst. Waltrip retired after 2019. FOX added NASCAR Cup driverClint Bowyer to the booth in 2021. At season's end, Gordon returned toHendrick Motorsports full-time as vice-chairman. For 2022 and 2023, Joy and Bowyer were joined by a different guest analyst each week, includingTony Stewart,Richard Petty, andDale Earnhardt Jr. In 2024,Kevin Harvick joined the two in booth for full-time broadcasting duties.
From 2001 through 2024, Fox broadcast the Daytona 500 and the next 15 NASCAR Cup races each season, plus two all-star events. Joy also anchors NASCAR Cup coverage on Fox-owned cable networkFox Sports 1 (FS1), formerlySpeed.[1]
In September 2008,Fox sent Joy to call aMinnesota Twins/Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball game, in which the Rays clinched their first-ever playoff appearance.
Joy is a charter member of theNASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel, and in December 2013, was named sole media representative to the Hall's exclusive nominating process.[citation needed]
In 2000, Joy was inducted into theRiverside Park Speedway Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
In March 2014, aSporting News poll named Joy first among network television's 15 NASCAR announcers and analysts with a 93% approval rating.[3]
Joy was voted the 2011 recipient of the Henry T. McLemore Award, (now the "American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence"). Presented since 1969, this award celebrates career excellence in motorsports journalism and is voted on solely by past winners. TheMotorsports Hall of Fame atDaytona International Speedway displays a wall of plaques honoring the winners, with smaller displays in several track media centers.[4]
In 2019, he was named to the voting panel for theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, and on November 10 of that year, he was inducted in the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame. He is a member, and past vice-president, of the National Motorsports Press Association. In January 2023, Joy was inducted in the Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
In 2024, Joy was nominated in the media/at-large category to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America at Daytona International Speedway.[5]
Joy resides near Winston-Salem,North Carolina with his wife Gaye. They have an adult son Scott, and daughter Kaitlyn.
Joy served four elected two-year terms on the Windsor, Conn. Town Council, where his committee was responsible for public health and safety for 25,000 residents.