Bob Jenkins

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Bob Jenkins (born September 4, 1947) is a former television and radio sports announcer best known for ESPN/ABC and later NBC Sports in the United States.

His most recent role was as the lead commentator on NBC Sports' coverage of the IndyCar Series.

After the 2012 IndyCar season finale to care for his wife Pam, who was fighting brain cancer, he resigned from broadcasting.

Indycar and NBC officials announced that after his wife's death offseason that he would retire from retirement for Indianapolis 500 final practice coverage in 2013 and would be available in a reserve role.

Personal life, illness and death

Jenkins, a colon cancer survivor who lived in the Indianapolis area, died of colon cancer. Pam Johnson died of brain cancer complications in Carmel, Indiana, on October 25, 2012. Jenkins revealed on February 16, 2021, that he himself had been diagnosed with brain cancer after a suspected stroke that he suffered on December 25, 2020. Jenkins wrote "I had colon cancer in 1983 and survived," in the interview, and "I'm gonna make it" with God's help and my favorite race fans. Jenkins died of brain cancer on August 9, 2021, at the age of 73.

Jenkins, a 1950s and 1960s music enthusiast, had a vast collection of over 10,000 45 rpm vinyl records.

Jenkins claimed to have attended every Indianapolis 500 dating back to 1960, but only twice (sixty races). He didn't go to the school senior trip in 1965, but he did watch the race on television). In 2021, his last "500" appeared only as a spectator, less than three months before his death.

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Announcing career

Bob Jenkins was born in Richmond, Indiana, and grew up in Liberty, Illinois. In 1965 and 1969, he graduated from Short High School and Indiana University. Jenkins, a music enthusiast, aspired to be a radio disc jockey but instead found work as a radio news reporter. Jenkins befriended Paul Page, a veteran of the 1070 WIBC-AM, during this period. Jenkins was hired to act as a pit reporter for Indy car races on the radio as well as on television, helping him get his start in motorsports broadcasting.

Jenkins served as co-anchor for AgDay, the nationally syndicated farm news show.

Jenkins was one of ESPN's first anchors when it first launched in 1979, and he spent time on the network as one of the network's most senior executives until 2003. Despite his fame, he seldom, if ever, visited the Bristol, Connecticut studios. Nearly all of his time with the network was spent on the race track or in satellite studios in Indianapolis or Charlotte.

From 1979 to 2000, he was in charge of anchoring NASCAR on ESPN. Larry Nuber, his first booth mate, was Larry Nuber. He was later teamed with Ned Jartt and Benny Parsons. The trio was one of NASCAR's most popular announcing crews. The crew (sans Jarrett, who was working with CBS) would also cover ABC Sports, including the Brickyard 400 from 1994 to 2000.

Jenkins also ran CART series races, IMSA, Formula One, drag racing, and various other sporting events on ESPN and ABC in the 1980s and 1990s. Paul Page became the Indy car racing on ABC/ESPN by the late 1980s, with Jenkins focusing mainly on NASCAR. During most of his ESPN tenure, Jenkins hosted SpeedWeek, a weekly racing magazine.

Jenkins, who worked on ESPN & ABC from 1979 to 1998, served on the IMS Radio Network. He served as the chief announcer of the Indianapolis 500 from 1990 to 1998, having served on many frontstretch, turn four, and four others. Jenkins narrated the annual Indianapolis 500 official highlight films in the 1990s.

Jenkins left the radio crew to concentrate on television full time by 1999. The growing IRL/CART split saw changes in the announcing crews at ESPN/ABC. In addition, ESPN/ABC will no longer be a sponsor of NASCAR in the 2000 season. Jenkins was initially recruited to the CART series broadcasts, and the IRL and Indianapolis 500 broadcasts were primarily promoted to the chief announcing position. The scheme would persist into 2001.

With CART's floundering, Page was relocated to the IRL, and Jenkins was moved to the lower host position. Two veteran announcers were able to fill a "packed" booth. Jenkins wrote an ardent defense of the event against media critics on Bump Day on ESPN in 2003. Many were mocking the sport and the IRL for struggling to fill the field to the traditional 33 cars.

Jenkins was dropped from ABC/ESPN at the end of the 2003 season.

Jenkins joined the Indianapolis Motor Speedway staff in various capacities, including public address announcer and designated emcee of various sporting and media gatherings (such as the Victory Banquet, Last Row Party, and press conferences). The 2003 Brickyard 400 was his first foray as part of the P.A. Our staff is on hand to assist you. On Spike TV, he served a short stint as an announcer for Champ Car, but was soon fired by the production company. He joined SPEED and was a reporter for Speed News for a little over a year. Jenkins has also been a contributor to WIBC radio in Indianapolis, as well as the Premier Racing Association's communications manager. Jenkins was the chief announcer of the IMS Radio Network for the 2006 Grand Prix in 2006, and In 2007, the IMS Radio Network announced Indy Pro Series broadcasts on ESPN2. He anchored the Allstate 400 on radio, his first NASCAR race call since November 2000. He returned to the Indy 500 for 2007-2008, reporting from the turn two position.

Jenkins returned to the ESPN booth in 2008 for two IndyCar races, the Rexall Edmonton Indy, and the Gold Coast Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise. Marty Reid, the regular play-by-play announcer, was unable to attend due to prior commitments.

In 2009, the IndyCar Series began a new television contract with Versus. Jenkins was drafted as the chief announcer and returned to Indy full-time for the first time since 2001. He did not return to his turn two on the radio network, but there were segments on the radio broadcast that included all three living "Voices of the 500" (Page, Jenkins, and King) as a result. Jenkins worked for Versus in 2009 and 2010.

Versus was acquired by NBC Sports Group in 2011, becoming NBCSN. On NBC, NBC inherited IndyCar and recruited Jenkins to continue as the lead announcer for IndyCar. He continued his part-time service on the public address announcing team throughout the month of May and on race day at the Indianapolis 500 (which ESPN/ABC had no right to). Jenkins was involved in Indy's practice and qualifying coverage. In 2012, he revealed that he would miss the season due in large part to his wife Pam, who suffered from terminal cancer. She died just after the season came to an end.

He spent 2013 on both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the United States Auto Club's Silver Crown Series, both in Indianapolis and the United States Auto Club's Silver Crown Series. As Leigh Diffey was covering Leigh Diffey's Monaco Grand Prix for NBC, Jenkins returned to NBCSN as a substitute in Indy 500 Carb Day coverage.

Jenkins, who was still at the Speedway for the public address system, narrated some vignettes for NBC's NASCAR coverage on both weekday and race weekends.

Jenkins and Dan Wheldon were inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum's Hall of Fame for the 2019 Indianapolis 500.

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