The National Motorsports Press Association has awarded Steve Byrnes the NMPA Spirit Award for the first quarter of 2015.
The award, voted on by members of the NMPA, is designed to recognize character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports.
Byrnes covered motorsports for 32 years, working for CBS, TNN, WTBS and Fox networks. March’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway was named the “Food City 500 In Support of Steve Bynres & Stand Up To Cancer’’ to honor Byrnes’ battle with head and neck cancer. He passed away two days after the race.
Byrnes is survived by his wife Karen and son Bryson.
The Spirit Award is given quarterly and then an overall winner is announced after the end of the year.
Lynda Petty, wife of seven-time champion Richard Petty, was the 2014 Spirit Award winner. Quarterly winners last year were Lynda Petty, Martin Truex Jr., Junie Donlavey and brothers Darrell and Michael Waltrip.