WAXQ New York’s Ken Dashow Tops Classic Rock PM Drive Top 10.

When it comes to the most listened-to classic rock hosts in afternoon drive, iHeartMedia “Q104.3” WAXQ New York’s Ken Dashow is in a class all by himself.

Dashow, who’s been with “Q104.3” since 1999 — three years after the station switched to a classic rock format — and who’s been heard on New York radio since 1980, has a commanding lead over the rest of Inside Radio’s TOP 10 PM drive shows on classic rock-formatted stations in PPM markets. Based on cume delivery of persons 6+ weekdays 3-7pm during Nielsen’s fall 2025 wave (an October-to-December three-month average), Inside Radio’s TOP 10 rankings are based on actual listenership and are not a popularity contest decided by a few dozen individuals.

With a 716,600 cume, “Q104.3” and Dashow have a 48% lead over second-ranked Meruelo Media KLOS (95.5) Los Angeles’ Nik Carter. Carter, a 40-year radio veteran and Billboard award winner for Major Market Rock Radio Personality of the Year, is one of three PM drive hosts to deliver a cume in the 400,000-to-500,000 range. The other two? Urban One “The Eagle 106.9/107.5” KGLK Houston’s Scott Sparks, a 40-year market mainstay and Texas Radio Hall of Fame inductee, and Hubbard Radio “The Drive 97.1” WDRV Chicago’s Tim Virgin, who first cracked the mic in the Windy City in 1994.

New York’s “Q104.3” is just one of four iHeartMedia stations represented in classic rock’s PM drive top 10. Coming in sixth is Chicago’s other classic rocker, the harder-edged “Rock 95.5” WCHI-FM with Josh Klinger in the air chair, while “Lone Star 92.5” KZPS Dallas’ “Jeff K” Kovarsky ranks eighth and WZLX (100.7) Boston’s Kenny Young ninth.

In addition to “The Drive,” Hubbard also lands KSLX (100.7) Phoenix in the top 10, with 2025 Marconi Award nominee Karen Dalessandro accompanying listeners on the drive home. Beasley Media Group also makes the cut with afternoon drive hosts from two of their stations: WMGK (102.9) Philadelphia’s Tony Harris, and WCSX (94.7) Detroit’s “Screamin’ Scott” Randall, an on-air presence in the Motor City since 1993.

It’s worth noting that four of the 10 stations listed — WZLX Boston, KSLX Phoenix, WCSX Detroit and KZPS Dallas — were among the first in the format, having adopted classic rock between 1985 and 1987. As for rock stations which evolved to classic rock, no station in the top 10 dates further back than L.A.’s KLOS, which began its local album rock format in 1971.