Dave Moody and Nate Ryan have been named co-recipients of the 2026 American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence (AMMAOE). The award, which is sponsored by Goodyear Racing, will be presented during a ceremony in the Daytona International Speedway media center on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Moody has been a motorsports broadcaster since 1978, when he began working at short tracks under the guidance of his mentor, NASCAR Hall of Famer Ken Squier. Moody joined the Motor Racing Network (MRN) in 1984 and has been a full-time member of MRN’s national broadcast team since 1993. He currently serves as lead turn announcer for NASCAR national series races. He also hosts “SiriusXM Speedway” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, a role he has had since 2003.
Ryan began covering auto racing for the San Bernardino County Sun in 1996, before becoming lead motorsports writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and USA Today. He was an on-air contributor for NBC Sports and hosted, edited and produced the “NASCAR on NBC” podcast. He also has written for NASCAR Digital Media, where he currently co-hosts the “Hauler Talk” podcast.
The award, previously known as the Henry T. McLemore Award, has been presented since 1969 to a member of the news media whose carer accomplishments in covering motorsports are exceptional. The award is administered and voted on by previous award winners.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame, which is located adjacent to Daytona International Speedway, hosts a display honoring all AMMAOE winners. Smaller display boards are also posted in media centers at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway.
The list of previous winners is below.
American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence Winners
1969 Bloys Britt Associated Press
1970 Bob Myers Charlotte News/Circle Track
1971 Ray Marquette Indianapolis Star
1973 Chris Economaki National Speed Sport News/CBS/ABC
1974 Joe Dowdall Detroit News
1975 Ken Squier CBS-TV
1977 Shav Glick Los Angeles Times
1978 Benny Phillips High Point Enterprise
1980 Tom Higgins Charlotte Observer
1981 Barney Hall Motor Racing Network
1982 Dick Berggren Stock Car Racing Magazine
1984 George Cunningham Atlanta Journal
1985 Mike Harris Associated Press
1986 Randy Hallman The Richmond News Leader
1987 Dick Mittman Indianapolis Star
1989 Steve Waid Roanoke Times/NASCAR Scene
1992 Deb Williams UPI/NASCAR Scene
1993 Eli Gold Motor Racing Network/TNN
1994 Godwin Kelly Daytona Beach News-Journal
1998 Gerald Martin Raleigh News & Observer
1999 Ned Jarrett Motor Racing Network/CBS
2001 Bob Jenkins ESPN
2002 Sandy McKee Baltimore Sun
2003 Al Pearce Daily Press/Auto Week
2004 Larry Woody Nashville Tennessean
2005 T. Taylor Warren NASCAR Photographer
2007 Mike Hembree NASCAR Scene
2010 Ken Willis Daytona Beach News-Journal
2011 Mike Joy MRN/CBS/TNN/TBS/FOX
2012 Kenny Bruce NASCAR Scene
2013 Thomas Pope Fayetteville Observer
2014 David Poole Charlotte Observer
2015 Lenny Sammons Area Auto Racing News
2016 Pat Singer Area Auto Racing News/Philadelphia Journal
2017 Holly Cain NASCAR.com/Tampa Tribune
2018 Robin Miller RACER Magazine/NBCSN
2019 Sam Posey Auto Week/ABC
2020 Bob Pockrass FOX Sports
2021 Bones Bourcier Freelance
2021 Pete Lyons Photographer
2022 Bob Varsha ESPN
2022 Jonathan Ingram Freelance
2023 Benny Kahn Daytona Beach News Journal
2024 Dave Despain ABC/CBS/NBC/ESPN/MAVTV/Speed/TNN/TBS
2025 Dave Kallman Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
2026 Dave Moody Motor Racing Network/SiriusXMNASCAR Radio
2026 Nate Ryan Richmond Times Dispatch/USA Today/NBC