Longtime racing announcer Bob Jenkins, a former radio voice of the Indianapolis 500 whose profession spanned greater than 5 many years on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Community, died Monday on the age of 73, Indianapolis Motor Speedway stated in an announcement.

Jenkins revealed in February that he had been recognized with mind most cancers and deliberate to reduce his work on the speedway as he underwent radiation and chemotherapy therapy.

Jenkins, who survived colon most cancers within the Nineteen Eighties, retired from broadcasting on the finish of the 2012 IndyCar season to look after his spouse, Pam, who had been recognized with mind most cancers. He returned to the tv sales space briefly in 2013 after she died, and had most just lately labored as one of many speedway’s main public tackle announcers.

Jenkins joined the IMS Radio Community in 1979 and shortly grew to become in style together with his booming, baritone voice and easygoing model.

He additionally referred to as IndyCar, NASCAR and System One races for different networks together with ABC, ESPN, NBC Sports activities Community and its predecessor Versus. He was a central determine in ESPN’s racing protection, anchoring “NASCAR on ESPN” from 1979 to 2000.

Jenkins additionally appeared in “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” and offered the voice for a number of video video games, together with EA Sports activities’ in style “NASCAR.”

However he may need been greatest identified round Indianapolis because the radio voice of the five hundred from 1990-98, a tenure that included his name of Al Unser Jr.’s first 500 victory in 1992 when he barely beat Scott Goodyear.

“The checkered flag is out, Goodyear makes a transfer, Little Al wins by only a few tenths of a second — maybe the closest end within the historical past of the Indianapolis 500,” Jenkins declared. The victory margin — 0.043 seconds — stays the closest end within the race’s 104-year historical past.

Jenkins grew up in rural Indiana and attended his first Indianapolis 500 in 1960. Since then, he stated he missed solely two races — 1961, when he could not get anybody to take him, and 1965, when he was on a senior journey.

The Related Press contributed to this report.