Bryson, wife Karen make late broadcaster's ballot count for 2016 class
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As the esteemed NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel gathered Wednesday in Charlotte to deliberate on who will be selected for the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame class, an equally esteemed single ballot arrived to be counted among the votes.
Completing that ballot was one of the last things longtime broadcaster Steve Byrnes did before passing away from cancer on April 21.
His 12-year-old son Bryson and wife Karen made the surprise special delivery. Then the voting panel, which includes the sport's legends such as NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett, posed with Bryson in honor of the sixth-grader's father -- a beloved member of the NASCAR family and highly respected member of the media.
"What an awesome opportunity as far as things you could experience in the sport,'' Karen Byrnes said. "Being in this group photo with people who are founding members of the sport of NASCAR racing, that's pretty grand.
"One of the reasons I wanted Bryson to go to the (NASCAR Sprint All-Star) race on Saturday and one of the reasons why today is so important to Bryson is because at home, Steve was just dad. He emptied the trash, he was just dad.
"I want Bryson to realize and remember that even though he was just dad at home, out in the world, he had a great reach. He touched a lot of people's lives in a positive and awesome way. I think it's great Bryson gets to experience that now and see, 'wow, dad did a lot of wonderful things.' "
NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes remembers the day he brought the voting package -- ballot and background material -- to Byrnes' home. Almost immediately, Byrnes started perusing the information.
"As soon as I gave him that three-ring binder, he didn't just set it down to the side, he opened the book and started scanning the pages,'' Jewkes recalled. "It was interesting to me, here he was certainly very sick, but instantly started doing his homework. And if you talk to his former colleagues, they will tell you he was always very well-prepared and diligent.
"The fact he was going to go into the hospital for the last time the next day never entered my mind that night. He was so excited and honored for the opportunity.
"I gave him the ballot and said, 'it's up to you and if you're there May 20 (for voting day), we'll tear this up and you'll be part of the debate.' He made no commitment but just said, 'I'm planning to be there May 20.' "
Just this week Byrnes, was posthumously awarded the National Motorsports Press Association's First Quarter Spirit Award, for his courage and inspiration.
And, Jewkes emphasized, Byrnes wasn't selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel because he was sick, but because he has covered NASCAR for the past 30 years and was the choice of FOX executives to represent the network's vote on the committee.
"We all knew this would give him a big lift,'' Jewkes said. "It's something I'll never forget, Steve was just so grateful and just felt very, very honored and felt it was a great recognition of what he had achieved in his professional career.
"I'm just so thrilled he had that opportunity and that was important to me."
That's something Karen Byrnes could particularly appreciate. She remembers how even from that first night Steve had the information to study, he would share facts about the nominees as she was cooking dinner. Even when he was admitted to the hospital -- where he would pass away a week later -- Byrnes was looking through the pages and making his selections. Karen found the ballot fully sealed in his briefcase after he died.
"When NASCAR and the Hall of Fame and FOX decided he should be the representative for FOX Sports 1 on the voting panel, it really gave him purpose and a sense that he still was working in the industry; even though his full-time job was fighting cancer, he still had a place,'' Karen Byrnes said.
"The sickness can consume your life but for him to have this purpose, it was such a blessing they asked him to do that and that he was able to spend time studying and choosing.
"Steve just left behind such a wonderful legacy of not only his work, but his friendships and relationships and people respecting him in the sport, his family. Honestly, it's unbelievable since he's passed away to realize how many different lives his life touched. It's amazing."