JERRY PUNCH - 08/20/1953
an American auto racing and college football commentator on ESPN, as well as a physician. Punch worked as an Emergency medicine physician at Bunnell Community Hospital before moving to ESPN in 1984 as a pit reporter for NASCAR races. While working at ESPN Punch also moonlighted at TBS and SETN doing pit reporting, as he was the first to report on the injuries to driver Terry Schoonover during the 1984 Atlanta Journal 500 for the network's race coverage. In 1988, in two separate incidents, he helped with the rescue efforts after the serious wrecks of Rusty Wallace and Don Marmor. In the case of Rusty Wallace's front-stretch crash at Bristol Motor Speedway, Punch happened to be on Pit Road at the time, and as a result, was the first person on the scene before the rescue crew could be scrambled. Punch's medical training proved pivotal, as Wallace was initially unconscious following this practice-session crash. Punch revived Wallace. Punch is also credited with helping to save Ernie Irvan following a practice crash at Michigan International Speedway in August 1994. Punch also had aided injured pit crew members on pit road in several races in the 1990s. While Punch was addressing a Nashville Super speedway media luncheon he was
interrupted by a loud crash from the back of the room. Punch immediately rushed from the podium to the back of the room where Jenny Gill (daughter of singer/musician, Vince Gill), a Nashville Super speedway intern, had fainted. Punch helped revive the Middle Tennessee State graduate student. She was taken to a local care center for observation and soon recovered, according to Sean Dozier, the Super speedway's public relations director. Punch returned to the podium and resumed his speech. On October 12, 2006, he was named the lead lap-by-lap commentator for ESPN's coverage of the Sprint Cup Series and the Xfinity Series starting in 2007 along with Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree. Punch and Petree were joined by Dale Jarrett in 2008 and stayed together until the end of the 2009 season; ESPN replaced Punch with Marty Reid for 2010 and returned him to pit road. In addition to his pit reporter roles, Punch served as the lead play-by-play voice for ESPN's coverage of the Craftsman Truck Series until the network lost that contract to SPEED following the 2002 season.
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