In his early professional life, Mike Joy worked at a Firestone dealer, installing tires for $3 an hour. But soon he got his big break at Riverside Park, Massachusetts, alongside Ken Squier as an announcer. That paved his way to a dazzling career in NASCAR, as fans tuned in to listen to his booming voice. 24 years. That’s how long Joy has been a cornerstone in the Fox booth, calling every Cup race Fox has televised. The initial 15 years he spent paired up with analysts Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds, made them the most recognized trio in NASCAR’s broadcasting history. However, in 2016, that strong base they created cracked when Jeff Gordon came in to fill McReynolds’ spot, and three years later, Waltrip retired.

Fast forward to May 2025, and rumors about Joy getting fired started popping up on the internet. “Sigh. Anonymous BS clickbait. See you tomorrow (Sunday) on FS1,” he addressed the speculations two weeks ago. But since Amazon Prime, TNT, and NBC Sports will take over for the rest of the season and not Fox, Joy has found something quite interesting to do in his free time. He will soon trade his microphone for a firesuit!

The Historic Trans Am Series will be flagged off at Sonoma Raceway during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR weekend, July 11–13. For this grand event, Mike Joy will race alongside his son Scott Joy. According to Sonoma’s official website, “Joy will suit up to compete in a fully restored 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, a historic car originally raced by Jerry Thompson for Tony DeLorenzo’s Owens Corning Racing Team with factory backing. Sonoma’s own Chris Drysdale will prep the car.” The series will feature a collection of restored race cars from the golden era of American road racing (1966 to 1972). Those were the days when Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, and George Follmer would rule the sport with their vintage cars. Think about Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers!

NASCAR’s festivities during the 2025 Sonoma weekend will kick off on Friday. On Saturday, the Historic Trans Am event will be held alongside the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. That’s going to be a treat for all motorheads. And the car Mike Joy will drive just makes it sweeter. It is a beast of its own!

In late January 1970, Tony DeLorenzo and the team received the body of the car and sent it forward to Logghe Stamping for the roll cage construction. It had custom Saddle Tan padded dashboards, and when asked about it, Jerry Thomspon said, “We were just frantic for parts and could not be particular!” While the entire frame, fenders, and suspension were reworked, there were a few changes that took it to a whole new level.

The car had a limited-edition spindle from GM, which allowed it to have J56 Corvette brakes. A larger axle was provided for the rear, which could use an Impala 12-bolt posi-traction differential. And for performance, it had a Harrison Oil cooler with an L88 aluminum radiator. Bill King’s Machine Shop assembled the 302 engines not far from the OCF shop. And then came the aerodynamic difference-maker, a NASCAR-style Cowl Air Induction system, directly adapted to the engine compartment of this custom Camaro.

GM designer Randy Wittine mimicked the color scheme used on the OCF Corvettes and created the most striking graphics of the Trans Am race cars at that time with the iconic red-white vinyl. Who would not want to drive this living piece of powerful history?

Indeed, the car could be a huge motivational factor for Mike Joy. The iconic broadcaster likes to get his hands dirtier than easily discernible. So it is not surprising that this is hardly the first time he has taken the wheel. After wrapping up FOX’s coverage and handing over to Fox Network, the NASCAR broadcaster enrolled in the 2023 Trans Am event at Sonoma as well.

Mike Joy: Being truly dedicated to the sport

Whoever has gotten involved with NASCAR has loved it all the way. The same goes for Mike Joy. We all know him as the icon whose immortal voice guides fans across the corners of a racetrack. His love for the microphone is undeniable, yet his love for the wheel is little known. As we learned, Joy will be racing at Sonoma. He owns a large collection of snazzy cars, like the 1960 Chevy El Camino or the 1970 Datsun 240Z. In early 2024, he was working on the ground-up restoration of an MG Midget. Yet Joy likes to limit modifications to cars as much as possible. According to him, “What’s the point of getting into a 1970 car that drives just like a 2024 car?”

Additionally, Mike Joy likes to get his hands dirty with his automobile beauties. Be it swapping out motors, replacing or upgrading transmissions, the broadcasting phenomenon likes to do it all. He considers working on cars a hobby and a form of therapy when he is away from the booth. Joy said in 2024:

“Sometimes, we will part cars out, and I think my record is one MGB that we parted out that provided donor parts to over 20 different owners who were working on restoring those cars. That’s a fun part of it…There’s two keys: an understanding wife, that’s No. 1, and having a large enough garage where you can stop in the middle of a project, not have to pack everything away, and then you can return to it where you left off. That’s the other key to getting stuff done.”

Clearly, Mike Joy knows his way around the wheel. The Sonoma Raceway festivities are nearly two months away, and we have ample time to hype up Mike Joy’s racing duties. What do you think?