FOX NASCAR announcer Mike Joy is facing backlash after he addressed the “keyboard warriors” during a commercial break at Sunday’s Cup Series race, hosted by Phoenix Raceway in Arizona.
The 73-year-old announcer has been announcing races since his appointment as a CBS pit reporter in 1973. With 85 laps remaining in Sunday’s race, FOX took the last full-screen commercial break. Mike then addressed the NASCAR supporters who frequently criticize the quantity of commercial interruptions used during a race.
He stated:
“Now for all the keyboard warriors, I’m going to do this in words of one syllable. The last green flag full-screen break of this race comes right now.”
Joy’s remark enraged fans, who believe that he was impolite and insensitive.
How did NASCAR supporters respond to Mike Joy’s remark?
The “keyboard warriors” were the target of FOX NASCAR announcer Mike Joy during Sunday’s Cup Series race in Phoenix.
FOX took its final full-screen commercial break of the race with 85 laps remaining. At that point, Joy made it a point to take a dig at the fans.
Mike Joy has had enough of the keyboard warriors pic.twitter.com/WHu5sckU0Y
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) March 12, 2023
With his comment, Joy made sure the critics were listening carefully because the quantity of commercials and full-screen commercial breaks that prohibit viewers from viewing the race are frequently a source of criticism.
Mike Joy’s remarks regarding the 500 commercial leads fans to believe he was being rude.
Mike Joy's defensiveness regarding the Daytona 500 commercial criticism is obnoxious
He's a pro. The commercial criticism was valid whether he agrees with it or not. But being defensive ahead of ad breaks in the races after the 500 isn't the pro way to handle that feedback
— Nick Bromberg (@NickBromberg) March 12, 2023
Mike Joy mocking fans every week, on air, for being frustrated with commercials is really ridiculous and an immature response by FOX Sports.
I understand it’s a necessary evil, but that’s really low.
— Alex (@newgayden) March 12, 2023
hard to have respect for mike joy when he continues to treat the viewers like this https://t.co/heNslnSr2M
— Zack (@DreamyZackGP) March 12, 2023
In a tweet that he responded with, Mike stated that less advertising used to be effective but no longer would. With the amount of rights fees they must pay to NASCAR for each race, he said, Fox would be out of business after just two races if they did away with the advertisements. To offset all of the fees, they would need to run numerous advertisements each week if production costs were included.
It worked then but not now. We'd be out of business after two races.
Nascar charges TV nearly $25M per race in rights fees. Add production costs and it takes a lot of commercials each week to try to break even. https://t.co/t60xnqBLlm— Mike Joy (@mikejoy500) March 11, 2023
Furthermore, viewers also requested that a few races be shown with fewer commercial interruptions than in previous TNT events. Each race stage was to have two commercial breaks: one at the conclusion of the stage and the other just before the green flag was raised.
Who is Mike Joy?
Michael Kinsey Joy is a former politician, businessman, and current lap-by-lap announcer for Fox Sports’ coverage of NASCAR. Clint Bowyer is his color analyst. Joy has participated in the live broadcast of 44 Daytona 500s as of 2023. Also, he provides expert analysis for the live TV coverage of collector automobile auctions on the History Channel, A&E Network, and FYI.
For the 23rd consecutive year with the network, broadcasting veteran Mike Joy served as the lead race announcer for FOX NASCAR in 2023. He was joined in the FOX Sports booth by analyst Clint Bowyer and a rotating cast of eminent guest commentators. Joy has been overseeing the network’s broadcast team for the last 22 years.
The majority of the major American motorsports events have been covered by Joy on radio and television. He began his career as a pit reporter for 15 years before joining FOX in 2001. From 1998 to 2000, he anchored CBS Sports’ coverage of the DAYTONA 500. In addition, from 1977 through 1983, Joy called the “Great American Race” for MRN Radio. He has also participated in live TV or radio coverage of the DAYTONA 500 for 44 consecutive years, starting with the 2023 edition.
