Commonwealth Corner: Joe Moore

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Joe in Virginia

By: Joe Moore, MRN Announcer and Raceline Producer

I am a North Carolinian by birth, but I have lived most of my adult life in Virginia. After a real-life “Good Morning Vietnam” experience in the Army at American Forces Thailand Network, I returned to my hometown of Wilmington, NC and started working as a disc jockey for WHSL Radio. One of my fellow announcers had a job offer in Smithfield, VA with a new radio station, and he connected me with the owner. I had been on the other side of the earth for the last three years and was quite adaptable, so I inquired about an opportunity. We talked, he made an offer, and the next thing I knew, I was headed to Virginia.

I moved here in 1974 and started working for WEOO Radio in Smithfield, VA. That led to stints with WGH, WVEC and later 2WD, all in the Norfolk market. While at 2WD (WWDE,) we did a promotion on a Saturday night at Langley Speedway.  I met Joe Carver, who was the track promoter at the time. Joe told me that his announcer had a bad habit of drinking while announcing, and he wanted to replace him. He asked me to take over the following week. I liked racing, and I thought it might be a good opportunity to make some side money. Little did I know where it would lead.

In the meantime, Joe Carver connected me with Paul Sawyer, who was the President of Richmond International Raceway at the time. Joe suggested to Paul he should include me in the announcing staff at Richmond. Paul agreed, and I started working with Ray Melton and Sammy Bland. We did all of the pre and post-race announcing and also did play-by-play throughout the race. Ray did not allow MRN to run their audio over PA. The three of us would do 25-laps each, then pass the microphone. If Sammy went one lap over 25, Ray would inform him that it was my turn. Nobody could hear us, so I wasn’t too concerned, but Ray was. He was determined that I was not going to be cheated out of all the laps I was due.

These guys were both characters who had done a lot in their careers, dating back to the days of riding down streets with speakers on top of their cars announcing upcoming races. They told stories of nailing  posters to telephone poles and handing out flyers on street corners. They were the original race promoters.

Ray Melton was very proud of his command “Gentlemen start your engines”. He carried a 3X5 inch card in his pocket with wording for anybody who might be introducing him to do his command, just in case that opportunity might arise. I remember well how it was written, “And now, for the most famous words in racing, here is your chief announcer Ray Melton”. Ray also insisted that after the race was over, he would announce “This microphone is now secured”. I never had any idea what that was all about!

Once at a Sprint Cup race at Richmond in the late 70s, Ray had Sammy Bland read his introduction – but before Ray could utter the sport’s most famous words, Dave Marcis did the unthinkable, he started his engine. Ray was furious, but he announced the entire race from the PA booth. When the event was over, victory lane festivities complete and fans were filing out, Ray announced that since everyone had been deprived of hearing his command, he would give it to them then. So as crewmembers were picking up wrenches and packing away their equipment and fans were climbing into their cars to drive home, Ray bellowed, “Gentlemen, start your engines”. I remember everybody just looking at each other in bewilderment and moving on about what they were doing.

The way Ray was paid for his announcing at Richmond was quite unique as well. Paul Sawyer gave Ray several pages in the race program. Ray would sell paragraphs to various businesses around Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, where he lived. He would also read those paragraphs throughout the course of the weekend, as part of his agreement with Paul.

When I started working with him, I got so tired of reading those things over and over…Gail Drummond Insurance Agency, Great Bridge Dental, Military Highway Used Auto Parts, these are just a few that are still permanently ingrained in my mind. I suggested to Ray that before the next race, he meet me at 2WD Radio Studios in Hampton and we could pre-record those paragraphs and then save having to read them again and again. He agreed and in January of that year, he and his wife, Mrs. Lottie (who was also a trip), met me at 2WD. I was running the audio board while Ray was at the mic. He read several of his ads, then paused and said, “Pete Babb, please come to the tower”. I turned around to see what he was doing and he whispered, “That’s just to make it sound real”.

Well it sounded real all right, because poor old Pete Babb, who was a NASCAR official, came to the tower every time he heard that during race weekend. Each time I would explain it to him, but by the next time it went out, he returned, cursing Ray the whole time.

The announcing gig at Richmond and working for Joe Carver at Langley led me to MRN. Joe called Mike Joy, who was then running Motor Racing Network. They set up an audition for me at Daytona, and in 1978 I did my first Daytona 500 broadcast.

During that time, I also bought radio station WPEX in Hampton and operated it during my early years at MRN. I sold that a few years later and started a local TV show covering local racing at Langley, Virginia Raceway, Dixieland and Southside Speedways. That show was called Raceline, and now, 23 years later, it is syndicated to over 100 TV Stations and 30 regional sports networks nationwide.

My wife, Tiffany, and I produce Raceline from studios in our home in Chesapeake Monday through Thursday. On Thursday evenings, I head to Norfolk International Airport to catch a bird to the next race for MRN. It’s back on Mondays to start the cycle all over again.

Richmond is only an hour and a half drive from my home, by far the closest track to me. For that reason and all the great memories of working with a larger-than-life character named Ray Melton, I love going back to Richmond.

RIR PR

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