Vincent Welch (born August 4, 1964) is an American radio and television personality most recently for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

. Until 2022, Welch was the play-by-play commentator for

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...

, and occasionally, a pit reporter for FOX's coverage for the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

and

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

. He also does commentary for games for

Fox College Hoops ''Fox College Hoops'' (also known as ''Fox CBB'', or ''Fox Primetime Hoops'' for Saturday primetime games and ''Fox College Basketball Friday'' for Friday primetime games) is the branding used for Fox Sports broadcasts of college basketball for ...

Career

After graduating from

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

in 1987, Welch would get an entry-level job in a small radio station in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...

, WKBV. With WKBV, he would do play-by-play commentary for the local high school teams in the area. After three and a half years with the company, he would leave for a part-time job with

WISH-TV WISH-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Marion-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23) and low-power, ...

, and worked his way up into television. In 1992, Welch would earn a regional

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for sports programming. In 1995, he would move to

WNDY-TV WNDY-TV (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Marion, Indiana, United States, serving the Indianapolis area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Indianapolis-licensed The CW, CW aff ...

, and was named the sports chief of the station. In 1998, Welch would move to WIBC, after he felt that he would be let go from WNDY-TV, as another company,

Paramount Stations Group Paramount Stations Group, Inc. (sometimes abbreviated as PSG) was a company that controlled a group of American broadcast television stations. The company existed from 1991 until 2001. History Paramount Communications, the then-parent company ...

, had purchased the station and were letting go staff members. Welch was named sports director for WIBC, taking over for Bob Lamey. Working for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

for various motor sports leagues, he would work as a pit reporter. In 2010, Welch was announced as the lead commentator for

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

NASCAR Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

coverage. On January 2, 2023, Welch announced he will not return to Fox Sports for the 2023 season. He currently is with NASCAR Productions as a spotter, primarily working for his son Dillon.

Personal life

Vince graduated from

in 1987 with a degree in

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

. His son, Dillon Welch, was a radio personality for the

Motor Racing Network Motor Racing Network (MRN) is an American radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary ...

. Dillon is currently a pit reporter for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. In 2020, it was announced that Welch had signed an endorsement deal with health and wellness multilevel marketing company Zurvita.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Vince 1964 births Living people College football announcers Television anchors from Indianapolis Motorsport announcers College basketball announcers in the United States American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers Ball State University alumni