Late TV broadcaster Byrnes honored with Squier-Hall Award

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Late television broadcaster Steve Byrnes has won the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR media excellence.

NASCAR officials made the announcement Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Byrnes died in April after a long bout with cancer. He joined Fox Sports in 2001 and served as a pit reporter for its Sprint Cup Series coverage through the 2014 season. He was also a play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports 1's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races and hosted several auto racing shows on the company's channels. Before joining Fox, he was a pit reporter for TNN, CBS and WTBS.

Byrnes will be honored during NASCAR's Hall of Fame induction ceremony in January.

He was one of eight nominees for the Squier-Hall Award, which was created in 2012 and named after legendary NASCAR broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall.