Every sport has figures who are instantly recognizable as they play or have played a key role. For NASCAR in particular, there are people like Richard Petty, the late Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson, among many others. However, there have been many who were just as influential away from the NASCAR track. One of them was former NASCAR sportscaster and commentator, Ken Squier. The 88-year-old’s NASCAR career spanned from 1971, all the way until his final broadcast in 2014.

A few days ago, news broke that Squier was admitted to the hospital. The ex-NASCAR commentator had been battling with several health problems, but the signs looked positive for a while. Unfortunately, the latest update was that the legendary commentator has passed away, to the shock of many in the community. Squier was a massive figure because he was the one who first called the Daytona 500 the ‘Great American Race’.

Back in 2021, he was diagnosed with COVID-19, and that complicated his health issues. While he managed to recover from that scare, things worsened when he suffered from a minor stroke. However, he recovered again. Later on, he suffered a fall that left him with a fractured pelvis, but nothing could keep him down for long.

Sadly, whatever health problems that he had reared up once again, and he definitely fought hard. Tragically, he lost the battle and the NASCAR community is poorer for it.

READ MORE: “No It Can’t Be”—Heartbroken Fans in Disbelief After Knowing Beloved 88-YO Ken Squier’s Failing Health

What made Ken Squier so iconic in the NASCAR community?

In NASCAR’s infancy, it was primarily a spectacle in southern USA. With Squier’s influence, the sport was brought to a wider audience in the United States. One could say that he was the NASCAR equivalent to Formula One commentary legend, the late Murray Walker. For a long time, Walker was known as the voice of Formula One, and Squier has pretty much achieved a similar status in NASCAR.

Right from when he was young, his interest in motorsports was stoked, thanks to his family’s interest. Considering that his father used to own a local radio station, it didn’t take long before he began to gravitate toward this career path. As it happens, his career began at the age of 14 as a motorsports announcer in Vermont. Soon enough, Bill France Sr recognized the need for an increased presence on the radio waves in order to reach the whole country.

That was when Squier stepped in, and the two of them founded the Motor Racing Network (MRN). Since then, MRN has grown in leaps and bounds and continues to be a well-known authority in the NASCAR broadcast scene. Many of NASCAR’s current broadcasters have worked at MRN at some point in their career. This includes the likes of Rusty Wallace, Todd Gordon, Dave Moody, Mike Bagley, Mike Joy, Kim Coon and many more.

How did this change the way the sport was broadcast in America?

Trending

Joe Gibbs Racing Potentially Blocking Truck Series Phenom on Denny Hamlin’s Radar After On-Track Bad Blood

NASCAR Fans Back Kyle Busch’s Son’s Desperate Plea Amidst Denny Hamlin’s ‘Bad Luck’ Reluctance

Reality Struck Shane van Gisbergen Has His Playoffs Chances Cut Short Even Before His Full Time Debut in 2025

“My Body Needed Time”: Tony Stewart’s Wife, Leah, Discloses Her Roadblocks to Motherhood Amid Racing Dilemma

Trackhouse Racing’s Drastic Downfall to Potentially Get Worse With One of Their Founding Fathers Leaving Mid-Season

Since they were dealing with radio broadcasts, there had to be an emphasis on the voices to convey the action. It is worth noting that in the early days of the TV broadcast, only the highlights reel would be aired. One network that used to air those highlight packages was CBS, and Squier used to work for them as a broadcaster. Safe to say, he often urged them to air NASCAR races for the American public.

Then came his most ambitious plan, to tackle the Daytona 500, but not in the way most people think. Squier was of the opinion that a race of this caliber deserved live flag-to-flag coverage. Around that time, live coverage of NASCAR races was not a novel concept, as it was done for shorter races. However, it would be the first time a 500-mile crown jewel event would be aired live. This wasn’t endemic to NASCAR either, as the 1979 Indianapolis 500 also got the highlight reel treatment.

Eventually, the CBS higher-ups caved in and aired the race. That would be a turning point because they noted that NASCAR was growing slowly and steadily. It also helped that that 1979 race resulted in one of the greatest finishes ever in NASCAR history. Later on, as technology progressed and NASCAR interest bloomed, every Winston Cup race received its fair share of air time. Since then, that has truly changed the broadcasting scene for the sport and it has been a juggernaut ever since.

Ken Squier once imparted advice for future NASCAR broadcasters

Earlier this year, he spoke to Dirty Mo Media and talked about his time as a broadcaster. He even had some sound advice for future broadcasters in the NASCAR arena. Ken Squier told Dirty Mo Media, “To be true to yourself, and what you believe in. Amongst people are playing the game, created by television broadcasting media. But the real people are the ones that we focus on, and have to, because they go out and do it. How many races a year? That’s pretty special, and that specialty gets lost in all the advertising and all the promotion. Somewhere in a kid, that really believes this game. I have to believe awfully hard because they pay some big dues. That makes it special.”

Furthermore, when the late, great Dale Earnhardt passed away, he delivered a touching eulogy. Squier believed that Dale Earnhardt embodied the spirit of stock car racing.

On a more modern note, Ken Squier continued his commentary gig for a long time and spoke about a few current NASCAR stars. Among his most famous moments is when he referred to Erik Jones as ‘That Jones boy’. By then, he had been in the broadcasting game for nearly 70 years, but was still going strong. In 2018, he had the honor of being the first and only broadcaster to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and he truly deserved that.

WATCH THIS STORY: WWE Superstar Liv Morgan Ignites NASCAR Event with Dale Earnhardt Tribute