For decades, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted open-wheel cars; Only Indy cars were permitted to race. But the track which dates back to 1909 slowly witnessed a shift in tradition in the late 1980s and by the early 90s, the track’s leadership contemplated hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race. This was obviously regarded as a controversial decision by many motorsport purists, but regardless, NASCAR’s inaugural Brickyard 400 took place in 1994. Indiana native Jeff Gordon drove away with the win.

The Brickyard 400 race truly shaped his career. However, some of the credit also goes to the track announcers at the time who made the race larger than life. Yes, we are talking about Dave Calabro!

For nearly 40 years, his name has been synonymous with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Calabro’s voice has been the soundtrack to some of the biggest moments at the Indianapolis track, and his work as a track announcer since 1985 helped elevate the sport.

No wonder Jeff Gordon credits Calabro and his fellow broadcasters for helping make that race—and his career—what it is today. 93 Cup wins, 4 championships, and whatnot. Ahead of this year’s Brickyard 400, Gordon had a heartwarming chat with Calabro, who was still working with news station WTHR in Indianapolis.

Jeff Gordon shared his gratitude in July, saying, “Growing up and going to high school in Indiana and racing around in Indiana, this place was always very special. I appreciate, at that time, the way you guys supported me when I moved down south and started racing NASCAR and telling the stories about this inaugural event and I don’t know. At that time, I wasn’t really sure we had a chance at it. But we won in May in Charlotte and came here with a strong car and a strong team in confidence and a bunch of people cheering for us. That somehow got us across the finish line.”

Now, after a legendary 40-year career, Calabro is retiring. But before he hung up the mic, Gordon made sure to give a shout-out to the man who had been such an important part of his career. On X, Gordon posted a throwback photo with Calabro and wrote, “Congratulations Dave Calabro on your retirement from WTHR Channel 13! You’ve been a staple in the Indy market for years and helped cover a kid from Pittsboro who just wanted to race at the big track. We’ll see you at Indy next year!”

Calabro, who announced his retirement in June and officially wrapped up his time at WTHR, isn’t completely leaving the track behind. He will continue to announce at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He stated, “I plan to keep playing on the microphone at my backyard sandbox, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!…as long as the Captain Roger Penske lets me!”

Reflecting on his career, the WTHR website quoted him, “As a high school kid who fell in love with radio and TV, I started dreaming about making a career out of it. Here I am, wrapping up nearly 40 years of getting paid to play Television! The past 32 years here at WTHR have been simply amazing. The journey has been an absolute blast.”

Well, let’s hope to see him next season in IndyCar doing what he does best!

What’s next for Dave Calabro?

Calabro started young like Goron, worked in radio as a high schooler at Ben Davis, and throughout college at Butler University. After graduating from Butler in 1985, Calabro spent five years at WDTN in Dayton, Ohio, where he covered the Cincinnati Bengals and Reds before joining WTHR in 1992 as a weekend sports anchor.

These experiences shaped him into the person he is today. “A front row seat to sports history. I always felt it was my responsibility to take you, the viewer, along with me. I tried to never be the story but to bring you the story. I’ve never cared about personal awards. There are Emmys somewhere in my attic, but my award was all the great relationships I’ve formed along the way! Thank you all for always supporting me and welcoming me into your home! God has blessed me beyond measure!”

Now that his broadcasting career is over, Calabro is looking forward to a much-needed break. He plans to spend more time with his family, traveling with his wife, Lisa, and visiting his sons, Drew and Alex, on the East Coast. For Calabro, the career that once dominated his life started to interfere with personal time, and now, he is putting family first.

His career has been great, but that somewhat started to come between his personal life. But now, he intends to spend a lot more time with family and friends. But at heart, he will probably always be ‘a track rat’.

What are your memories of Dave Calabro? Share with us in the comments below.