Ken Squier, Longtime NASCAR Announcer, Dies at 88

Ken Squier, the longtime NASCAR commentator, has died at the age of 88.

“Our beloved Ken Squier passed away last night,” his hometown radio station WDEV, which he co-owned, announced in a Facebook post on Thursday. “We are all heartbroken over such a great loss for his family, his friends, employees at WDEV and you.”

Squier went into hospice care Wednesday night in Waterbury, Vermont, the radio station stated. They invited the public to share their memories of Squier.

“Join us this morning,” the post continued, “when we open up the phone lines for you to call in and talk about Ken.”

Squier was born Kenly Dean Squier on April 10, 1935 and started his on-air work at the age of 12 at WDEV, which his father previously owned and operated until his death in 1979. Afterward, Squier inherited the station and served as its primary owner and CEO. He transitioned into his race car broadcasting career at 14 years old and began announcing at Malletts Bay, the Northeastern Speedway and the Monadnock Speedway.

He started his first network job as a pit reporter for ABC, where he reported the first live “flag-to-flag” coverage of the Greenville 200. In 1972, he moved to CBS Sports and stayed there for six years when CBS became the first network to air wire-to-wire coverage for the Daytona 500.

In 1981, Squier started to appear on NASCAR coverage through TV networks including ESPN and NBC. He spent two decades as a play-by-play announcer before his retirement in 1997. He was replaced by Mike Joy.

In 2018, Squier was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, along with Red Byron, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Robert Yates.

Squier is survived by his wife Elizabeth, his daughter Ashley Jane Squier and his son Travis Squier.

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