Which NASCAR figure is the recipient of 2025 NMPA Myers Brothers Award?

The 2025 NASCAR Awards ceremony wrapped up Tuesday night, presenting the National Motorsports Press Association’s Myers Brothers Award to Mike Joy. The 75-year-old, known for his play-by-play commentary for NASCAR’s coverage on FOX, is one of the most dominant voices that has kept the fans up-to-date with the sport for more than 50 years now.

Joy began his career as a public announcer back in 1970 while attending the University of Hartford and Emerson College. He joined MRN in 1977 and, for the next 14 years, stayed with the organization before landing his big break in 1981. That year, Joy served as the anchor for the first live NASCAR Cup Series telecast on ESPN.

Mike Joy also anchored every Daytona 500 for CBS Sports from 1998 to 2000. In fact, he has been part of the live coverage team for a total of 45 Daytona 500s, seven for MRN, 17 for CBS, and 21 for FOX.

Since 2001, Joy has been the lead race announcer for NASCAR on FOX. Joining him in the broadcast booth as color analysts are Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. As mentioned by Jayski in a recent story,

“Presented annually since 1958, the award, named in honor of former NASCAR competitors Billy and Bobby Myers, recognizes individuals and/or groups who have provided outstanding contributions to the sport of stock car racing. Each year, the NMPA Myers Brothers Award winner is selected by a vote of the NMPA press membership.”

Previous recipients of this prestigious award are Greg Biffle, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Richard “The King” Petty, to name a few. Biffle received the honor last year for his outstanding efforts to help mountain communities in Western North Carolina following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

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NASCAR ratings average drops following the 2025 season

The viewership ratings average for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is finally here, and it shows a significant decrease from last year’s numbers. Overall, there has been a 14 percent drop in TV ratings for the 2025 season.

This year’s Championship 4 race, which was held last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, garnered about 2.77 million viewers on NBC Sports, as compared to last year’s 2.9 million. Steve Phelps addressed the issue of low viewership in a recent press conference and said,

“When the season started, because of the distribution changes to be less broadcast heavy and more cable heavy and streaming, we knew we were going to have a reset,” Phelps told the reporters. “We had projected that reset and told everyone in our industry that reset would be between 14 percent and 15 percent in Cup.”

That being said, the 2025 Xfinity Series season got its best television ratings in the last four years. With an average viewership of over a million, the series experienced a 10 percent increase from last year’s numbers.