Hill Overton passed away Sunday, December 26.

Many of you knew Hill for his show with Shane Greene, ‘Let‘s Talk Racing‘. What you may not know is that Hill has done that show with his vast knowledge of NASCAR and his deep voice since the inception of WIXE in 1968. 53 straight years!

Since the first race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960, he has always been somewhere. The Charlotte Motor Speedway has hosted 62 of these 600s, and Overton has been there for 60 of them. He wasn‘t able to attend the last 2.

Not sure if anyone else can say the same thing. Bruton Smith, maybe?

Before the speedway opened, Overton attended his first stock car race at another track in Charlotte, in 1949. He was 13, and he knew what he‘d just seen had changed him. When the speedway opened in 1960, “obviously I had to go.”

He spoke with a deep voice, befitting of the work he eventually found at the speedway. After attending the first seven or so 600s as a spectator, he got a job with World 600 Broadcasting in 1968. He worked out of pit road at first, as a spotter, and then eventually found his way behind the microphone. Over the past 53 years, Overton has done a lot of radio and public address work out of the speedway, with a lot of programs and stations, most of which are no longer in existence. He served as a public address announcer at several speedways. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, he for years interviewed the winner from Victory Lane over the PA system. Every larger sporting event, whether it‘s the ACC tournament or a NASCAR race, has those behind-the-scenes characters that have been around so long that they become part of the event themselves. At the speedway, that was Hill Overton. He long ago became a part of the culture of the 600. Drivers have come and gone. Generations of fans. Overton has always been there.

WIXE

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