Bob Varsha
Bob Varsha | |
|---|---|
 Varsha at the 2010 Legends of Motorsport event at Barber Motorsports Park | |
| Born | Robert August Varsha April 21, 1951 Northport, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College Emory University School of Law |
| Occupation(s) | Announcer, commentator |
Robert August "Bob" Varsha
Early years
Varsha was born in Northport, New York, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in foreign language. While attending Dartmouth, Varsha won varsity letters in cross country and track. He made the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon event twice, doing so while attending Emory University School of Law. Varsha won the inaugural Peach Bowl Half Marathon in 1980 at a time of 1:08:23.
Varsha practiced law in
Speed and Fox Broadcasting
In 1999, Varsha moved to Speed, then known as SpeedVision. In 2002 and 2003, Varsha was the host of Speed's
At the end of the 2012 Formula 1 season, it was announced that Speed and Fox would no longer present the entire live Formula 1 schedule for the
Varsha was the original studio host for the
Other networks
CBS "borrowed" Varsha and other talent from Speed when they broadcast Champ Car races in 2002 & 2003.
Varsha was permitted by Fox to host three F1 races during the 2013 season for the NBC Sports Network (the three races that are on the same day as an IZOD IndyCar Series race—Malaysia, Belgium, and Korea—as regular lead host Leigh Diffey was also lead host on IndyCar broadcasts for NBCSN), which carried F1 in the United States until the end of 2017. In 2014, Varsha was again permitted to work with NBCSN's coverage, but NBCSN decided instead to have Varsha be lead broadcaster for the Verizon IndyCar Series races instead of Formula 1, where Diffey remained lead broadcaster for the entire season. In 2014, Varsha worked Carb Day, Pocono, and the Toronto IndyCar race weekends.
Varsha called the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix on NBCSN with Steve Matchett and David Hobbs filling in for regular F1 announcer Leigh Diffey who was ill. Varsha also covered for Diffey on NBCSN's coverage of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix on September 17, 2017, as Diffey was on assignment covering the IndyCar Series finale the same weekend.[3]
Radio
In January 2002 Varsha joined
Varsha was play-by-play radio announcer for the 2014 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Personal life
Varsha's son,
In January 2020, Varsha revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and would begin chemotherapy treatment.[7] [8]
References
- ^ "Mr. Robert A. Varsha Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Georgia State Bar Directory (1979-1980)
- ^ DiZinno, Tony (September 11, 2017). "F1 enters the night with Singapore Grand Prix on NBCSN". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Focus on Racing Radio". Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ F O R R E S T | G O O D M A N Archived February 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Pruett, Marshall (January 6, 2020). "Veteran race commentator Varsha battling cancer". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ Malsher, David (April 5, 2020). "Legendary race broadcaster Varsha struck by coronavirus". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 8, 2020.