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Auto racing pit/garage Reporter, College Football ABC Sports
Dr. Jerry Punch, sideline reporter and trauma specialist, has joined ABC Sports' college football broadcast team this season as a sideline reporter on select regional games.
Dr. Punch, has become a well-known face in auto racing both as a physician and a broadcaster.
After eight years of national radio broadcasts, Dr. Punch began working selected motorsports events on "ABC's Wide World of Sports" in 1987. He has served as both pit commentator and expert booth analyst alongside veteran host Keith Jackson. In 1989 Dr. Punch became a regular member of the Emmy Award-winning ABC Sports team providing coverage for the Indianapolis 500. As a physician/pit commentator, he has provided valuable insight into both mechanical and medical strategies as they unfold relative to the driver and crew members during the telecasts.
As a television commentator, Dr. Punch is known for his thorough preparation and his broad-based knowledge concerning most aspects of racing.
In addition to his ABC Sports duties, as well as operating a busy emergency medicine company, Dr. Punch served as both play-by-play and pit analyst on ESPN. A full-time member of ESPN's ACE Award-winning broadcast team since 1987, Dr. Punch appeared on 62 (ESPN) cable telecasts during 1992 -- as both play-by-play and sideline reporter for college football -- as well as host and pit analyst for NASCAR, IndyCar, ARCA and SCC Motorsports events. He has also provided host/play-by-play coverage of NCAA college basketball and women's gymnastics.
Moreover Dr. Punch is known for his participation in saving two drivers from certain death in 1988. While preparing for a telecast of the Busch 500 for ESPN, Dr. Punch witnessed a crash of the car driven by Rusty Wallace. When he reached the vehicle, Wallace was not breathing, Punch revived Wallace and assisted the emergency crew in removing the injured driver from the wreck. Later that year Dr. Punch, on another television assignment (ARCA race in Atlanta), helped save driver Don Marmor after a tremendous impact flipped his car three times. Marmor had no pulse, but Dr. Punch assisted raceway emergency crews in their attempt to stabilize him on the scene, until arrival of the Lifeline helicopter. When Marmor was airlifted from the track, he had a strong pulse, stable blood pressure and spontaneous breathing. Miraculously Marmor survived the incident.
Aside from his hectic professional schedule, Dr. Punch cherishes the rare moments with his wife, Joni and their children. It's not difficult to guess the identity of his favorite motorsport legend, given the fact that his first-born bears the name A.J.!