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American auto racing and college football commentator

Gerald Lee "Jerry" 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 also does local radio spots in Knoxville. Punch is also a Principal Investigator for an award winning clinical research company, Alliance for Multispecialty Research or AMR, in Knoxville.

Punch grew up in Newton, North Carolina. He received a medical degree from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in 1979.

Punch began radio broadcasting for Motor Racing Network (MRN) in 1980. 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. He would later return for the 2018 IndyCar season to cover the IndyCar Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 as ABC airs its final year of IndyCar as NBC Sports has acquired the rights beginning in 2019. In 2019, Punch returned to college football coverage with ESPN, serving as a part time sideline reporter for games in 2019 and 2020.

In 1988, in two separate incidents, Punch helped with the rescue efforts after the wrecks of Rusty Wallace and Don Marmor. In 1989 at the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500, Punch was reporting from the pit stall of Richard Petty when a fire broke out, injuring two crew members who Punch proceeded to treat on the spot. Following the incident, ESPN mandated that its pit reporters wear fire proof suits. Punch is also credited with helping to save Ernie Irvan following a practice crash at Michigan International Speedway in August 1994. Punch also had aided injured pit crew members on pit road in several races in the 1990s. While Punch was addressing a Nashville Superspeedway media luncheon he was interrupted by a loud crash from the back of the room. Punch immediately rushed from the podium to the back of the room where Jenny Gill (daughter of singer musician, Vince Gill), a Nashville Superspeedway intern, had fainted. 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. Punch returned to the podium and resumed his speech.