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Legendary powersports host Jenkins dies at 73
To look at: Tribute to Bob Jenkins
Radio and television veteran Bob Jenkins, a former ‘Voice of the 500’ inductee into the 2019 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, died on August 9 at the age of 73 after a valiant battle with cancer .
The voice of the native of Liberty, Indiana was heard around the world for five decades on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway radio network, holding several positions, including chief announcer from 1990 to 1998. Jenkins was the one of only four people to play the role of play-by-play announcer in ABC’s 54-year history of broadcasting the Indianapolis 500.
With a relaxed and friendly style that reflected his personality, the beloved and respected Jenkins hosted the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races on television and frequently contributed to the IMS sound system. Jenkins was also a frequent emcee at “500” events, including the Indianapolis 500 victory celebration.
In one form or another, Jenkins has been connected to IMS for over 40 years, and his most familiar call was the thrilling ending of the 1992 race between Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear.
“The checkered flag is out, Goodyear takes a step, Little Al wins by a few tenths of a second, perhaps the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history,” Jenkins told radio, his baritone voice climbing a few octaves.
The 0.043 second margin of victory remains the closest finish in 105 years of racing history.
Jenkins attended his first “500” in 1960 and said he had only missed two races since – in 1961 when he couldn’t find anyone to take him, and in 1965 when he was in. travels as a high school student. He came to the track last May as he battled his illness to receive the Robin Miller Award, where he gave a brief and poignant acceptance speech and was warmly greeted by a large group of friends and family. admirers of the racing community and the media.
A graduate of Indiana University, Jenkins turned his love of music into a radio job, first as a reporter at the Fort Wayne and Valparaiso stations, then at WIRE in Indianapolis as a co – presenter of an agricultural information program broadcast nationally “AgDay”.
Jenkins, who had attended track races in Indiana with his father, landed his first motorsport job in 1979 as a backstretch announcer on the IMS radio network. His friend Paul Page, a member of this broadcast team and an employee of his rival WIBC, helped him get the job. Page later helped Jenkins start the USAC radio network.
Jenkins was one of the first on-air employees of ESPN when it launched in 1979. For over 20 years he was the primary voice in NASCAR racing for ESPN and sometimes ABC, including the first seven Brickyards. 400 to IMS. Its association with former stock car drivers Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons has grown into one of the popular trios in the history of motorsports broadcast.
If there was any form of motorsport on American television, Jenkins was probably involved in it at some point in his career.
Along with his work on NASCAR and IMS, Jenkins anchored for the Indianapolis-based company that produced ESPN’s popular “Thunder” series shows of the USAC Sprint Car and Midget series races, and he hosted from “SpeedWeek” on ESPN.
Jenkins’ voice has been used in several video games and motorsport films, including NASCAR-centric “Days of Thunder” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”.
Jenkins was a colon cancer survivor in the 1980s and retired from television in 2012 to care for his wife, Pam, who fought her own battle with cancer. She passed away in October. In February 2021, Jenkins revealed he was diagnosed with two malignant tumors behind his right temple following a severe headache on Christmas night.
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