As most here will know, I am a big, life long fan of NASCAR. And, not only the drivers, but the team members, owners and just about anyone connected to the sport... and that includes the broadcast reporters, analysts and journalist.
My favorite reporter/journalist in recent years has been Steve Byrnes because you could always see that he truly enjoyed the sport and his job as a reporter.
This short 22 second clip best demonstrates Steve's ability to get the story, because no one else could have approached Tony Stewart at a moment like this and get him to say anything at all and most reporters would have refused to even try for fear that Tony would turn on them.
This from Steve's Family:Family announcement: Steve Byrnes passes away at age 56
Editor's note: The Byrnes family has provided the following statement...
Mr. Steven Patrick Byrnes, age 56, of Fort Mill, S.C., went to be with the Lord on April 21, 2015.
Surviving are his wife of 22 years, Karen Byrnes; son Bryson, 12, a sixth grader at Charlotte Christian School; parents Jerry and Claire Byrnes of Charlotte; sister Betsy Byrnes of Charlotte; brother Dan Byrnes and wife Tammy of Charlotte; nephews Tyler, 21, and Dylan Byrnes, 17; and niece Samantha Byrnes, 13, of Charlotte.
Steve was born April 14, 1959, in Chicago, and was raised in New Carrollton, Md. He attended Church of Christ at Gold Hill Road, was a 1981 graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Radio, Television and Film, and played football for one year at James Madison University before transferring to the University of Maryland.
Steve enjoyed a successful and highly respected television broadcasting career for 30 years. He joined the FOX Sports family in 2001, hosting and reporting for multiple NASCAR programs and serving as a pit road reporter for NASCAR on FOX's broadcast of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 2001-2014. Most recently, he was the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports 1 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and was co-host of NASCAR Race Hub for the network.
