Calls for ‘Firing’ Mount Against FOX as Declining Broadcaster Goes Down an Ugly Slump on Live Coverage

“It’s not OK but it’s what fans have come to expect from Fox’s NASCAR coverage on a weekly basis.” An offhand remark by Athlon Sports‘ Kyle Dalton during a shaky Martinsville broadcast sums up a season of frustration for FOX’s NASCAR team. It was a busy Saturday at Martinsville Speedway with Cup Series practice and qualifying for the Cook Out 400, where Josh Berry and Chris Buescher were dialing in their cars. Commentators Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick tried to keep up in the booth, but the stumbles were hard to miss: wrong camera cuts, mixed-up names, and a rising tide of fan discontent.

FOX is marking its 25th year of NASCAR coverage in 2025, and Joy’s been the lead voice since 2001, a constant through decades of racing shifts. He’s also got 50 years in motorsports broadcasting, including 45 Daytona 500s since his MRN Radio debut in 1979. But come Martinsville, Bowyer’s telestrator breakdown started getting derailed by a pit road switch, and him mis-identifying a driver, leaving fans buzzing online.

The controversy reared its head on Reddit as one social media user decided to write a long post titled, “Has the time come for Mike Joy to leave the Fox booth?”

The post further read, “First off, I have so much respect for Mike Joy and everything he’s done for the sport for decades and a deserved hall of famer. However I’ve noticed since last season it feels like he’s lost the energy to hype up great racing moments and it really affects the broadcast. Harvick definitely try’s to help but because he’s not the lead commentator he’s waiting for Mike to say something and it ends up being 5 seconds of dead air and by the time they say something the moment has passed. I know Fox’s production crew certainly doesn’t help them and Clint can sometimes going off on a tangent but it’s Mikes job to hype the moments up and he’s failed to do so for over a year now. Who would you have replace him?” But why the sudden concern?

Well, to get into more detail, Joy faltered, starting an in-car segment when he said, “Kyle Larson, a little bit different approach here.” Promptly, Bowyer interrupted him and said, “That is not Kyle Larson.” To this, the play-by-play announcer responded, “I’m sorry. We went the other way. Josh Berry.” But, truth be told, it wasn’t exactly Joy’s fault here. It was FOX’s.

While Joy was speaking, the broadcast initially showed the in-car camera of No. 17 driver Chris Buescher, before it switched to an in-car camera shot of Josh Berry, while the graphics initially showed information related to Kyle Larson. No wonder, the broadcasting booth was confused. While Bowyer decided to play it off with humor, saying, “I’m like, there’s no way, unless he’s ate something this week. He has grown seven inches somehow. His helmet, this guy’s helmet is way too high in the seat for my man Kyle Larson,” Joy was far from impressed and called out his employer instead.

“This is what happens when the voice in your ear says, ‘Going to last week’s winner,’ and we go to the winner a couple of weeks ago. It’s OK,” he said. Unfortunately, that was not the only instance of a camera mess-up that weekend. The victim this time? Clint Bowyer himself.

Just a few minutes prior, at the end of the first practice session, the retired NASCAR veteran was trying to talk about Martinsville rubber buildup in the corners of the half-mile track. “If you can see where that rubber’s starting to build up there,” Bowyer said while using the telestrator to highlight a section of the track with yellow marks. However, exactly then, the broadcast cut to an unrelated shot of pit road, with the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s marks no longer applicable, prompting the booth to burst out laughing. However, that doesn’t mean Mike Joy is completely off the hook, either.

Notably, his commentating during the COTA race turned heads for all the wrong reasons. As YouTube channel ‘NASCAR OFFTRACK’ put it, “The Circuit of the Americas, one of the most intense road courses in NASCAR, the final lap is absolute chaos. Drivers beating and banging, desperate lunges, bumpers flying and engines screaming—this is what NASCAR fans live for…What did we get? Mike Joy sounding like he was narrating a weather report while the action on track was reaching nuclear levels.”

“Joy’s commentary was barely registering on the Richter scale. It was boring, lifeless, completely detached from the moment. It was as if he had already packed his bags and clocked out. No excitement, no urgency, no sense that we were watching a battle for the win in one of the season’s most dramatic finishes. If you were listening with your eyes closed, you wouldn’t have even known anything important was happening.” What else didn’t help? One Reddit user posting more or less the same thing as this week’s post, mentioning how the 75-year-old “simply does not feel emotionally invested anymore”.

Looks like FOX’s 25th season has hit snags, but Mike Joy’s losing his charm inside the booth. With NASCAR’s new media deal bringing Amazon and Warner Bros in 2025, the question arises: How long until FOX continue with current talent, and are they ready to move on from their Voice of NASCAR?

Fans Speak Out: A Booth Under Pressure

Fans are dissecting FOX’s woes on Reddit, and their takes, sandwiched between praise and critique, reveal a messy picture.

One fan wrote, “Wipe the whole booth out imo. Bring in Bob and Jordan Bianchi as your historians, JMac as your former driver turned analyst.” On the other hand, another Reddit opined, “He always uses the same corny lines they used for 20 years now. I think he wishes darrel was still there to do the “have you ever?” “No i never” cornball stuff. That and his nose whistling makes me watch on max.”

One Redditor seemed to agree with OP and wrote, “Thought the same thing. His calls on most of the on-track incidents were really sharp… That said, it definitely feels like Mike is having more of those off weeks sprinkled between the good ones.” Joy was in top gear at Phoenix, narrating Christopher Bell’s win with a razor-sharp precision that had fans buzzing. Then Martinsville threw a curve, and he mixed up Berry and Larson, a slip that dulled his shine. What started as a smooth run is now hitting bumps, and fans are noticing every wobble. “In short, YES. Fox needs a total overhaul in the off season, starting with Mike moving to the host roll, and get rid of Myers altogether,” is what an opinion read. 

Sharing their take on Joy’s recent stint a fan added, “Yea I felt like I caught a lot of mistakes he was making… it seemed like a lot loved his energy today and how blunt he was about his comments regarding the Xfinity ‘dumpster fire.” Like most of the veterans, Mike Joy didn’t shy away from calling out the demolition derby Xfinity Series race. But when it came to bringing life to the main event on Sunday, he seemed out of touch. 

Another user was quick to highlight that FOX is cornered right now without good options to replace Joy. “Mike isn’t the greatest, but Fox just doesn’t really have anyone to bring up into the booth.” FOX is really cornered with how the rest of the media have roped in the best talents. Leigh Diffey is with NBC, while Dale Jr, Carl Edwards, and Steve Letarte are signed up with Amazon Prime Video. At 75, Joy might be on his final few laps of calling out races from the booth, but despite that, FOX seems unprepared to replace the veteran announcer. 

And then there was one social media user who calmly reasoned: “Yes. It’s time. It’s not a disrespect thing, but it’s just time. Need a new voice for the sport.”

The drama peaks with a team tangle: “The rest of the booth isn’t helping. Harvick has some talent but Bowyer is sucking away any attention for his drunken ramblings mid-race.” Clint Bowyer hasn’t been able to win over the fans with his commentary in the FOX booth. Although with Harvick’s addition, the booth is somewhat stable, the former RCR driver isn’t sure if he needs to lead the calls or let Big Mike talk about the big moment. 

“He’s a HoF’er but he should have retired with DW. He’s lost his spark,” read a comment, while another mentioned, “Can we go one week without Mike Joy talk?” However, not everyone agrees…

“No. Put him back with McReynolds in the booth, and he will be a rejuvenated man,” a fan argued. For the time being, Larry McReynolds only chips in as an analyst during the live coverage, while Harvick and Bowyer do the heavy lifting from the FOX booth. There was a time when the trio of Darrell Waltrip, McReynolds and Mike Joy called races from the booth, and this run stretched for 15 years. But, with the massive shake-up in NASCAR media rights deals, it feels as if FOX has taken a backseat.

“I’ve felt this for the last few years”, “He is one of many problems with the Fox coverage. Respect the man, but it’s time to hang up the microphone. Better yet, just hand it all over to CW,” are just some of the other comments that summed up the growing dissent.

What do you think about the current lineup calling NASCAR on FOX? And if Mike Joy were to end his stint, who should be the ideal candidate to replace him?