By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Retired motorsports writer Mike Harris of The Associated Press on Sunday was named recipient of the 2025 Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.

Harris became the 13th winner of the award, which is displayed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte.

He joined the AP in 1969 and became lead motorsports reporter in 1980, a role he held until his retirement in July 2009.

“Mike Harris was a trusted voice inside the NASCAR garage for decades,” said Jim France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “Mike’s nationwide reach coincided with NASCAR’s enormous popularity growth, and his coverage and feature stories for the world’s largest news-gathering organization brought NASCAR and our drivers into the homes of millions of fans across the country. Mike is a true professional, a gentleman and a legend in his field.”

Harris began his full-time journalism career in 1967 with the Rockford Morning Star in Illinois and Register-Republic before joining the AP’s Chicago bureau in 1969. He was the Indiana sports editor before moving full time to motorsports.

Harris is the 1985 recipient of the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence. He won the Jim Hunter Writer of the Year Award given by the Eastern Motorsport Press Association in 1987 and 1994.

The Squier-Hall Award is voted upon by a panel of NASCAR and NASCAR Hall of Fame executives, active and retired media members, and former NASCAR competitors and industry leaders. It is named after NASCAR media figures Ken Squier and Barney Hall, the first two recipients of the award.

Harris will be honored during NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony festivities on Feb. 7 and featured in an exhibit in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.