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(HAZLE TOWNSHIP, PA) When the Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) holds its 2025 convention January 10-12, at the Holiday Inn in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., one of the most respected and well-known members if the motorsports media will be on hand as the keynote speaker.
Paul Page, has a voice known to motorsports enthusiasts around the world, having served as “The Voice of the 500,” or chief announcer, on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network for 13 years, and as the host and play-by-play voice for the Indianapolis 500 on the ABC-TV network for 16 years.
Page will be speaking prior to the Dover International Speedway luncheon on Saturday of the convention which follows that morning’s workshop sessions.
“We’re thrilled to have such an icon in motorsports, especially from the media side, to be coming to our 52nd annual convention,” stated EMPA president Dino Oberto.
“Paul is a legend in this sport, and it will be a pleasure to host him when we get together in January. There is so much that he has done in his career and for him to be able to share that with us is indeed an honor for the organization.”
A native of Evansville, Indiana, Page started his career in Indianapolis radio, and his path toward IMS began when he joined WIBC-AM in 1968, for many years the anchor station of the IMS Radio Network broadcast.
In a life uniquely shaped by the Indy 500, Page fell in love with racing and the Speedway as a teenager, and it became his obsession. After receiving his first press pass in 1965, he became a fixture in Gasoline Alley and a trusted friend and confidante to generations of drivers, mechanics, and owners.
His career spanned ABC, NBC, CBS, and ESPN. Page wore a headset for every imaginable race and contest: from Indy cars to drag racers, from the Olympics to the America’s Cup, and from the X Games to Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Page’s autobiography, ‘Hello, I’m Paul Page: It’s Race Day In Indianapolis,’ was released in 2022 and tells the story of his career and the excitement of twenty-seven Indy 500 races, first as the “Voice of the Indy 500” for the radio broadcast and then as chief announcer for the ABC telecast. From his first race as a pit reporter to his semiretirement in 2016, generations of fans have witnessed the Greatest Spectacle in Racing as told by Paul Page.
Page is a member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. In 1989 and 1990, his work was awarded two Emmys for the coverage of the Indianapolis 500. He also was host/play by play in shows or series that garnered 13 other Emmys. In June of this year, he was inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.
“I’m really excited about coming out to the EMPA convention. They represent a group I have always had an interest in ever since I first met Wally Dallenbach at the Indy 500 and he kept telling me how competitive everything out there in that region is,” said Page.
“So now I will get to see the people that have attended and talked about it and wrote about it and I’m up for it,” he continued.
“It is always better when you are talking to people who really know their racing. I hopefully have a lot of things to say, many of that is in the book and I love to take questions and answers because that’s when you have the most fun.”
Founded in 1969, the Eastern Motorsport Press Association is an organization of professional writers, broadcasters, announcers, videographers, and photographers working in the motorsports industry. It also includes associate and corporate members with backing from Dover International Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Brice’s NAPA Auto Parts, New England Race Fuels, Maple Grove Raceway, Wanick Construction and American Racer Tire who are among the supporters of the organization.
The Mission of EMPA is: to acknowledge excellence in motorsports and those who have excelled; to foster an atmosphere to improve the quality of motorsports reporting through fellowship and interaction of veteran media with less experienced members in a welcoming atmosphere where tips, techniques and ideas are exchanged.; and to increase positive interactions between race tracks, sanctioning bodies and the working motorsports media.
EMPA is preparing to release the ballot to its membership for voting in the 2025 inductees to the prestigious EMPA Hall of Fame along with special awards during the organization’s annual convention.
