On Thursday, the racing world mourned the loss of everyone’s grandfather Ken Squier, who passed away at his home in Stowe, Vermont, at the age of 88 years old.
When we think of the legendary broadcasters in the sports world. There’s Keith Jackson of college football, Vin Scully, Harry Kalas, Dick Emberg of baseball, Pat Summerall, John Madden, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, and Frank Gifford of football, and racing had Ken Squier.
Ken Squier was born on April 10, 1935, in Waterbury, Vermont. His journey to NASCAR began at the age of 12 working for his father’s company WDEV in Waterbury, Vermont. Ken took over the station after his father died in 1979.
Squier’s racing-announcing career began at 14 years old where he commentated races from Malletts Bay, the Northeastern Speedway, and the Monadnock Speedway during the 1950s. His voice caught the attention of Bill France Sr., who hired him as the lead announcer and co-founded the Motor Racing Network (MRN) in 1970.
Squier served as a pit road reporter in the first-ever live racing event from Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Easley, South Carolina, for the Greenville 200 won by Bobby Issac. Ken Squier dedicated his life to telling stories about the drivers, tracks, and everyone in NASCAR. Those stories connected them to the fans, who rooted for their drivers to win every Sunday.
Behind the scenes, Squier led the charge to get CBS to broadcast the 1979 Daytona 500 in which CBS was not confident in the race. CBS decided to put the race on their network and it was one of the most important races in NASCAR history. Richard Petty won his sixth Daytona 500 but the highlight was the battle between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough. Allison and Yarborough were battling for the win when they made contact and later fought after the race.
The 1979 Daytona 500 drew in 16 million views. That race started the rise in popularity of NASCAR. Over the years, Squier would continue the play-by-play for NASCAR until 1997 when Mike Joy took over and he transitioned into a studio host.
Squier was a wonderful storyteller. His calm and soothing voice made every race must-see TV. When moments presented themselves, Squier knew what to do to make that race memorable like the 1993 Daytona 500, letting Ned Jarrett call the last lap in which his son, Dale Jarrett, won over Dale Earnhardt.
Squier had unique nicknames like “The Great American Race” Daytona 500, the Alabama gang of Bobby Allison, Davy Allison, and Neil Bonnett. Another one of his most memorable calls was Bobby Allison winning the 1988 Daytona 500 over his son Davey Allison.
Squier not only connected with older fans but young ones as well. In 2016 and 2017, he returned to the booth to call a portion of the Southern 500 with his longtime partner Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett. He even had one more nickname to hand out and the honor went to Erik Jones when Squier referred to him as “That Jones Boy.” 2017 would be Squier’s final booth appearance.
In addition to his broadcasting career, Squier founded Thunder Road International SpeedBowl in Barre, Vermont, in 1960. He would own the track until 2017 when he sold it to former Thunder Road track champion Cris Michaud and local businessman Pat Malone. Squier also appeared in seven movies most notably The Cannon Ball Run (1981) and Stroker Ace (1983).
After a 60-year career, Squier took his rightful place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2018. In addition to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Squier was also inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2010.
To me, Ken Squier is an icon and legend on so many levels. His professionalism and storytelling made every NASCAR race fun to watch. In addition to his storytelling, he was also educating the audience on where the drivers came from, how the cars were built, the parts on them, the sponsors, and how far the teams traveled just to be in the races. You do not see that anymore in today’s broadcasters.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his entire family, friends, colleagues, and fans. Thank you for everything, Ken. You will be missed.
