Star Power
Cincinnati Reds radio broadcaster Brennaman to drive pace vehicle
He will help kick off the race event
SPARTA, Ky. (July 2018) – Hall of Famer and Cincinnati Reds radio announcer Marty Brennaman will serve as the Honorary Pace Vehicle Driver for the eighth annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 on Saturday, July 14.
“I am thrilled and excited to have the opportunity to drive the pace car. I can’t express my appreciation to Mark Simendinger and the entire Kentucky Speedway staff,” said Brennaman. “I’ll be honest, I accepted with a little bit of trepidation. I’ve never been around the track or driven on it before. I’m sure I will have a whole bunch of butterflies but I’ll be fine and fully prepared by the time the pace car hits the track.”
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Kentucky Speedway Photo Cincinnati Reds radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman (center) will serve as the Honorary Pace Vehicle Driver for the eighth annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 on July 14 at the Kentucky Speedway. At left is Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger. |
Brennaman has been broadcasting Cincinnati Reds baseball games for 45 years. He joined the Reds radio team in 1974 and for 31 seasons (1974-2004) shared the 700 WLW Radio booth with Reds Hall of Fame pitcher Joe Nuxhall. Brennaman has been named Ohio Sportscaster of the Year 16 times, most recently in 2009.
He received the Ford C. Frick Award on July 23, 2000, in ceremonies at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The award is presented each year by the Hall of Fame to a broadcaster “for major contributions to the game of baseball.” Brennaman, Red Barber (WSAI, 1934-38) and Russ Hodges (WFBE, 1932) are the only Reds announcers ever to receive the Hall of Fame’s prestigious broadcasting award.
On May 2, 2005, Brennaman was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sports-writers Association Hall of Fame. In January 2013 he received the Tom Hammond Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports Broadcasting, presented by the Bluegrass Sports Commission in Lexington, Ky.
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The Portsmouth, Va., native won the Virginia Sportscaster of the Year Award four times while broadcasting basketball games for the American Basketball Association’s Virginia Squires, baseball games for the New York Mets’ Class AAA affiliate in Norfolk and football games for both Virginia Tech and William & Mary.
Brennaman also has broadcast games during the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament, including 15 regional tournaments and 11 Final Fours.
Other accolades include being inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago in 2005, inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, inducted into the Hampton Roads (VA) Sports Hall of Fame in October 2013 and, in 2009, he was selected by the American Sportscasters Association as one of the Top 50 broadcasters of all time.