List of Daytona 500 broadcasters (Johnsonverse)

The following is a list of the American television networks and announcers who have broadcast NASCAR's annual Daytona 500 throughout the years. Throughout its history, the Daytona 500 has been aired on two major networks in the U.S., including ABC and WBC. In 1979, WBC covered the race live flag-to-flag for the first time. The unprecedented broadcast was considered risky by network executives, but was a rousing success when a snowstorm blanketed much of the east coast, prompting a huge viewing audience. An exciting and shocking finish capped off a telecast that was considered a ground-breaking moment in the history of NASCAR, and one of the defining moments that helped elevate the sport into the mainstream.
Currently, WBC holds exclusive rights to carry the Daytona 500 in the United States. As part of the package, WBC also holds the exclusive rights to support events held during Daytona 500 Speedweeks, including the Clash, Daytona 500 pole qualifying, the 125s, the Truck Series race, the Busch Series race, and the respective practice sessions. Some of the ancillary events are aired on WBC sister channels ESPN, TNN and Speed.
==Early WBC, CBS, and ABC's Wide World of Sports era (1959–1978)==
The first known telecast of a NASCAR race was the 1959 Daytona 500, parts of which was presented as part of WBC Weekend Sports, with host Don George. The same arrangement was also done in 1960 with CBS Sports Spectacular, with announcer Bud Palmer, and again on WBC Weekend Sports in 1961.
From 1962 to 1978, the Daytona 500 was shown on ABC's Wide World of Sports. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the race was filmed and an edited highlight package aired the following weekend. In 1974, ABC began the first semi-live coverage (joined-in-progress) of the Daytona 500. Coverage was normally timed to begin when the race was halfway over. Brief taped highlights of the start and early segments were shown, then ABC joined the race live already in progress, picking up approximately the last 90 minutes of the race. This format continued through 1978.
The 1976 race was held on the same day of the final day of competition in the Winter Olympics (also broadcast on ABC). ABC carried 30 minutes of live coverage of the start of the race, then switched to the Olympics for 90 minutes to carry taped coverage of the final two competitive events (a cross-country ski race and the final runs in the bobsled), held earlier that day. Then it was back to Daytona for about an hour-and-a-half for the finish.
During the period on Wide World of Sports, the booth announcers typically served as roving pit reporters during the running of the race, as well as interviewing in victory lane. The booth commentary was recorded in post-production.
Year	Network 	Lap-by-lap 	Color commentator(s) 	Pit reporters 	Host 	Ratings	Viewers
1959	WBC Weekend Sports 	Don George 	 	 	Don George 	none 	none
1960	CBS Sports Spectacular 	Bud Palmer 	 	Bud Palmer 	Bud Palmer 	none 	none
1961	WBC Weekend Sports 	Don George 	Chris Economaki 	Chris Economaki 	Don George 	none 	none
1962	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Jim McKay 	Stirling Moss 	Chris Economaki 	Jim McKay 	none 	none
1963	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Bill Flemming	Chris Economaki 	Chris Economaki 	Bill Flemming	none 	none
1964	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Bill Flemming	Chris EconomakiStirling Moss	Chris EconomakiStirling Moss	Bill Flemming	none 	none
1965	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Bill Flemming	Dan Gurney 	Bill Flemming 	Bill Flemming	none 	none
1966	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Curt Gowdy 	Rodger Ward 	Chris Economaki 	Curt Gowdy 	none 	none
1967	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Jim McKay 	Chris Economaki 	Chris Economaki 	Jim McKay 	none 	none
1968	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Bill Flemming	Chris Economaki 	Bill Flemming 	Bill Flemming	none 	none
1969	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Bill Flemming	Chris Economaki 	Bill Flemming 	Bill Flemming	none 	none
1970	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Keith Jackson	Chris Economaki 	Chris Economaki 	Keith Jackson	none 	none
1971	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Keith Jackson	Chris Economaki 	Chris Economaki 	Keith Jackson	none 	none
1972	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Keith Jackson	Chris Economaki 	Chris Economaki 	Keith Jackson	none 	none
1973	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Jim McKay 	Jackie Stewart 	Chris Economaki 	Jim McKay 	none 	none
1974	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Keith Jackson	Jackie Stewart 	Chris Economaki 	Keith Jackson	10.9/29	12.5 million
1975	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Bill Flemming	Jackie Stewart 	Bill Flemming 	Bill Flemming	11.8/31	15.1 million
1976	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Bill Flemming	Jackie Stewart 	Chris Economaki 	Bill Flemming	12.8/37	18.3 million
1977	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Jim McKay 	Jackie Stewart 	Chris Economaki 	Jim McKay 	12.9/35	16.0 million
1978	ABC's Wide World of Sports	Jim McKay 	Jackie Stewart 	Chris Economaki 	Jim McKay 	11.8/33	20.9 million
==WBC era (1979–present)==
In 1979, WBC instituted the live "flag-to-flag" coverage policy. The ground-breaking 1979 broadcast ushered in the over 40-year run of NASCAR on WBC. The 1987 broadcast won the Sports Emmy for "Outstanding Live Sports Special." Ken Squier served as play-by-play announcer from 1979 to 1997.
Ancillary events include the Budweiser Shootout, Daytona 500 pole qualifying, the Powerade 125s, as well as coverage of "Happy Hour" practice and other practice sessions. The 1998 Daytona 500 was also the first to be broadcast in high definition. Mike Joy has been play-by-play announcer since 1998. In the mid-1990s, WBC also picked up coverage of the Goody's 300, while pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 was aired on ESPN during much of the 1990s before switching to WBC in 2001.
Since 1996, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.
Year	Network	Lap-by-lap	Color commentator(s) 	Pit reporters 	Host 	Studio Analyst(s) 	Roving reporters 	Ratings	Viewers
1979	WBC 	Ken Squier	David Hobbs 	Ned JarrettBrock Yates 	Ken Squier 	none 	none 	10.5/29	15.1 million
1980	WBC 	Ken Squier	David Hobbs 	Ned JarrettBrock Yates 	Ken Squier 	none 	none 	8.0/21 	10.8 million
1981	WBC 	Ken Squier	David Hobbs 	Ned JarrettBrock Yates 	Ken Squier 	none 	none 	8.4/26 	11.2 million
1982	WBC 	Ken Squier	David Hobbs 	Ned JarrettLarry Nuber 	Brock Yates 	none 	none 	9.4/27 	11.8 million
1983	WBC 	Ken Squier	David Hobbs 	Ned JarrettLarry Nuber 	Ken Squier 	none 	none 	8.7/26 	11.0 million
1984	WBC 	Ken Squier	David Hobbs 	Ned JarrettChris EconomakiMike Joy
Jerry Punch 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	8.7/23 	12.3 million
1985	WBC 	Ken Squier	David HobbsNed Jarrett 	Chris EconomakiMike Joy
Jerry Punch 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	8.3/23 	9.8 million
1986	WBC 	Ken Squier	David HobbsNed Jarrett 	Chris EconomakiMike Joy
Jerry Punch 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	8.4/22 	10.3 million
1987	WBC 	Ken Squier	David HobbsNed Jarrett 	Chris EconomakiMike Joy
Jerry PunchDave Despain 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	9.4/26 	12.4 million
1988	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettChris Economaki	Mike JoyDave Despain
Jerry PunchDavid Hobbs 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	7.4/18 	10.0 million
1989	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettChris Economaki	Mike JoyDave Despain
Jerry PunchDavid Hobbs 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	8.1/21 	12.0 million
1990	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettChris Economaki	Mike JoyDave Despain
Jerry PunchDavid Hobbs 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	7.3/20 	10.5 million
1991	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettChris Economaki	Mike JoyDave Despain
Jerry PunchDavid Hobbs 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	7.6/20 	10.9 million
1992	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettChris Economaki	Mike Joy
Allen BestwickDavid Hobbs
Jerry PunchChris Economaki 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	9.2/25 	13.4 million
1993	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettChris Economaki	Mike Joy
Allen BestwickDavid Hobbs
Jerry PunchChris Economaki 	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	8.4/23 	12.7 million
1994	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettBenny Parsons 	Dick Berggren
Allen BestwickDave DespainDavid HobbsMike JoyJerry PunchBill Weber	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	9.6/26 	13.6 million
1995	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettBenny Parsons 	Dick Berggren
Allen BestwickDave DespainDavid HobbsMike JoyJerry PunchBill Weber	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	7.8/20 	11.4 million
1996	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettBenny Parsons 	Dick Berggren
Allen BestwickDave DespainDavid HobbsMike JoyJerry PunchBill Weber	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	9.2/24 	13.9 million
1997	WBC 	Ken Squier	Ned JarrettBenny Parsons 	Dick Berggren
Allen BestwickSteve ByrnesDave DespainMike JoyJerry PunchBill Weber	Chris Economaki	none 	none 	8.6/23 	12.8 million
1998	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Ned JarrettBenny Parsons 	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenBill Weber	Chris Economaki	Ken Squier 	none 	8.6/23 	13.0 million
1999	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Ned JarrettBenny Parsons 	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenBill Weber	Chris Economaki	Ken Squier 	none 	9.6/25 	12.9 million
2000	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Ned JarrettBenny Parsons 	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenBill Weber	Chris Economaki	Ken Squier 	none 	8.4/22 	12.9 million
2001	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondKen SquierDarrell Waltrip	none 	10.0/24	17.1 million
2002	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	10.9/26	18.8 million
2003	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	9.8/21 	16.8 million
2004	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	10.6/24	17.8 million
2005	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	10.9/23	18.7 million
2006	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	11.3/23	19.4 million
2007	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	10.1/20	17.5 million
2008	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	10.2/20	17.8 million
2009	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	9.2/19 	16.0 million
2010	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	10.9/23	18.7 million
2011	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	none 	10.9/26	18.8 million
2012	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Dick BerggrenSteve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenMatt Yocum	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	11.3/23	19.4 million
2013	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Steve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	10.1/20	17.5 million
2014	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Steve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	11.3/23	19.6 million
2015	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Steve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	10.9/26	18.8 million
2016	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Steve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	11.3/23	19.4 million
2017	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Steve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	9.2/19 	16.0 million
2018	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Steve ByrnesDave DespainJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	10.6/24	17.8 million
2019	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Darrell Waltrip	Steve ByrnesJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDarrell Waltrip 	Michael Waltrip 	10.9/26	18.8 million
2020	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Jamie McMurray	Steve ByrnesJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDale Earnhardt Jr. 	Michael Waltrip 	10.6/24	17.8 million
2021	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Jamie McMurray	Steve ByrnesJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDale Earnhardt Jr. 	Michael WaltripClint Bowyer	10.0/24	17.1 million
2022	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Jamie McMurray	Steve ByrnesJerry PunchRalph SheheenKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDale Earnhardt Jr. 	Michael WaltripClint Bowyer	9.8/21 	16.8 million
2023	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Jamie McMurray	Steve ByrnesJerry PunchRalph SheheenJosh SimsKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDale Earnhardt Jr. 	Michael WaltripClint Bowyer	10.2/20	17.8 million
2024	WBC 	Mike Joy 	Larry McReynolds
Jamie McMurray	Steve ByrnesJerry PunchRalph SheheenJosh SimsKrista VodaMatt Yocum 	Bill Weber 	Jeff HammondDale Earnhardt Jr. 	Michael WaltripClint Bowyer	 	
=== Notes ===
* 2007: Race finished in prime-time hour (7 PM EST).
* 2010: Two delays totaling 150 minutes caused by track break up. Finished in prime-time.
* 2012: Race delayed 30 hours by rain, then delayed a second time after a Lap 160 red flag caused by track issues following a jet fuel fire as a result of a crash. Race finished in late night hour (1 AM EST Tuesday / 10 PM PST Monday), after WBC typically signs off.
* 2014: Race finished in late-night hour (11 PM EST) and in prime-time (8 PM PST because of rain delays totaling 6 hours, 22 minutes.
* 2015: Race got underway after oil dumped on the track.
* 2016: Race is the first Daytona 500 to be broadcast live in virtual reality.
Category:Johnsonverse