Christopher “Chris” Constantine Economaki (October 15, 1920 – September 28, 2012) was an American motorsports commentator, pit road reporter and journalist….who was given the title “The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism.”….to which Microsoft chose Economaki to author the auto racing history portion of its Encarta Encyclopedia. Economaki began as track announcer at a number of major races in the 1940’s and 1950’s. He is responsible for introducing millions of Americans to auto racing as an expert TV commentator….after beginning the July 4, 1961 with the running of the Firecracker 250 NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway for ABC Sports….when he covered most ABC Wide World of Sports motor sports events….including several Indianapolis 500 races…..as seen in this video herewith, Daytona 500, Formula One Grand Prix races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the East African Safari, and the Bathurst 1000 in Australia. He would also cover Wide World of Sports’s less glamorous motor sports assignments, such as demolition derbies.
Sir John Young “Jackie” Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland…..who was nicknamed the “Flying Scot”….he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973….while winning three World Drivers’ Championships….and twice finishing as runner-up over those nine seasons. During the period 1971 to 1986, Stewart covered F1 races, NASCAR races and Indianapolis 500 as a color commentator….and also functioned as host for the latter. Jackie was also a play-by-play announcer for the Luge at the 1976 Winter Olympics….along with the Equestrian at the 1976 Summer Olympics…when he was partnered with Chris Schenkel on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. He was noted for his insightful analysis, Scottish accent, and rapid delivery, which once caused Jim McKay to remark that Stewart spoke almost as fast as he drove.
