Gerald Lee Punch (born August 20, 1953) is an American auto racing and college football commentator known for his career at ESPN, as well as a physician.

Punch was successful and was selected by fellow students to become a new reporter and, thus, he was permitted to participate in the weekly Saturday morning live broadcasts on WNNC.

Punch walked-on to the North Carolina State University football team, serving as a backup quarterback under coach Lou Holtz.

[2] Punch paid his college and medical school tuition through prize money earned racing at short tracks in North Carolina.

He also served as the lead play-by-play voice for ESPN's coverage of the Craftsman Truck Series until the network lost that contract to Speed Channel following the 2002 season.

He was consulted as a doctor in 1996 to report the condition of Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier, who would go undrafted in the NFL due to a blood clot in his left leg.

[7] He continued to be the pit road reporter until the 2017 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, the final IndyCar race on ESPN's contract for 2017.

[10][3][6] In the case of Wallace's front-stretch crash at Bristol Motor Speedway, Punch happened to be on pit road at the time, and as a result, was the first person on the scene before the rescue crew could be scrambled.

Punch helped revive her, and she was taken to a local care center for observation and soon recovered, according to Sean Dozier, the Superspeedway's public relations director.