Barney Hall

Barney Hall
Born Elkin, North Carolina
Nationality American
Occupation Sports commentator
Employer Motor Racing Network

Barney Hall is an American sports commentator for Motor Racing Network, formerly calling NASCAR races. Hall has commentated races for over 50 years.[1] Hall is considered as one of the best NASCAR commentators of all-time,[2] and MRN director David Hyatt stated, "Motor Racing Network is ‘The Voice of NASCAR’ and Barney Hall is the voice of MRN."[3]

Career

Hall's career started in the 1950s working for local radio stations in Elkin, North Carolina, and is the first person to work on the public address system at Bristol Motor Speedway, which was stated as "dumb luck".[4] When Motor Racing Network started in 1970, Hall became a turn announcer, before becoming a booth announcer. Hall has commentated all but three Daytona 500s in his career, and in the 1979 edition, Hall introduced his catchphrase, "flag-to-flag coverage of The Great American Race."[5] In 2007, he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame.[6] On May 23, 2012, the NASCAR Hall of Fame announced the creation of the Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence, named for Hall and former MRN reporter Ken Squier.[5] On July 5, 2014, Hall announced that the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona would be his final broadcast.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Aumann, Mark (2007-04-24). "10 Questions: Barney Hall". NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  2. ↑ Caldwell, Clayton (2009-05-14). "NASCAR's 10 Best Broadcasters of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  3. ↑ "Barney Hall Rejoins MRN at Martinsville". Motor Racing Network. 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  4. ↑ "MRN Radio Announcers". Motor Racing Network. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Media Award Named for Hall, Squier". Motor Racing Network. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  6. ↑ "NHOF: NASCAR Adds Media Excellence Award To Annual Hall Honors". Speed. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  7. ↑ Gluck, Jeff (2014-07-05). "Barney Hall will make final call for MRN at Daytona". USA Today. Retrieved 2014-07-05.