Mike Joy Calls Mark Garrow’s Exit a Tearjerker — Era Turning
When veteran broadcaster Mark Garrow announced his retirement from NASCAR radio, longtime colleague Mike Joy responded with a short, personal tribute that captured how deeply Garland’s departure resonates across the garage. In a tweet, Joy summed it up plainly: “You’ve had a great career…and our sport is the better for it. I’m glad to have shared the mic with you in your early years. Congrats!” That sentiment echoed for many who grew up hearing Garrow’s voice on race day broadcasts and radio programs for more than four decades.
Garrow’s impact on NASCAR radio is hard to overstate. For more than 40 years he was a fixture at Performance Racing Network, filling roles from turn announcer and reporter to host and producer. He helped shape PRN’s GaragePass and was instrumental in building Winston Cup Today into a nationally syndicated show. Over the course of his career he lent his voice to nearly 10,000 daily broadcasts, earned six National Motorsports Press Association Radio Broadcaster of the Year awards and received the inaugural Barney Hall Award. He also contributed to the growth of Jayski, helping modernize how fans followed the sport long before podcasts and social media became standard.
Garrow, 67, framed his decision to step away with the same low-key pride listeners came to expect from his broadcasts. After announcing his retirement earlier in September, he reflected that he’d been “blessed” and called it “crazy to think I’ve done so many shows…has to be NASCAR record and who knows might be ‘radio’ record. Proud every show was original. Racing has been a part of my life since I was literally a baby, and it will continue to be, just in a different way. Truly content.” For peers like Joy and many across the paddock, Garrow’s farewell feels like an era turning—not marked by fanfare but by gratitude and long memories.
Garrow has often described his path into the sport as almost accidental. Raised in Vermont, he attended his first race at about a year old; his father worked as a flagman at Claremont Speedway in New Hampshire and his mother kept score, giving Garrow early, regular exposure to short-track racing. That upbringing provided the foundation for a career that would influence how NASCAR was covered on the radio for generations. His quiet exit from the microphone is a reminder of the deep, personal bonds formed by those who spend seasons calling the same races, and of the steady, behind-the-scenes voices that have helped define NASCAR’s soundtrack for fans.
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