FOX NASCAR presented Chris Osborne, Matt Kenseth’s spotter, with the second-annual “The Byrnsie Award” during Sunday’s NASCAR RACEDAY telecast from Sonoma Raceway on FS1. Osborne, a veteran in the NASCAR garage, was sidelined the first part of the 2016 season after sustaining serious injuries in an accident with a drunk driver during the holidays.
In honor of late FOX NASCAR broadcaster Steve Byrnes, whose nickname was ‘Byrnsie,’ the award was established in 2015 to celebrate an individual in the NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES who embodies principles Byrnes demonstrated daily in his personal and professional life — preparation, teamwork and family within the garage area. Osbourne was voted the recipient by Byrnes’ colleagues on the FOX NASCAR broadcast team, of which he was a member since the first race broadcast in February 2001. Byrnes passed away in April 2015 following a courageous battle with cancer.
Bryson Byrnes, Steve’s son, introduced the award on-camera from the NASCAR RACE HUB studios in Charlotte, N.C., while FOX NASCAR play-by-play announcer Mike Joy presented the trophy to Osborne on the spotters’ stand at Sonoma Raceway.
“The winner of this year’s FOX Byrnsie Award is spotter Chris Osborne, who like my dad, displaced tremendous amounts of strength, courage and determination this year in the garage,” Bryson said on NASCAR RACEDAY. “Congratulations to Chris. I know that my dad would be very proud.”
Osborne, affectionately known as “Crazy” in the NASCAR community, suffered severe right leg and foot injuries. His wife, Melissa, sustained major pelvis, hip, shoulder, arm and elbow injuries, while Osborne’s son, Austin, sustained a concussion, cracked sternum, partially collapsed lung and broken nose. The NASCAR community rallied around Osborne, one of its most beloved spotters, in the weeks following the accident and throughout the ensuing recovery process. Osborne returned to the spotters’ stand at Martinsville Speedway in late March.
“It’s a privilege to be the recipient of the second Byrnsie Award,” Osborne told Joy. “I know Byrnes’ love for everything that he had done in this sport … the determination he had to do his job, and first and foremost, how much he cared for and loved his family, and he put that number one. I feel like our family has been through a lot, and I’ve tried to do the same. It’s a great honor that the FOX group has voted me the second recipient of The Byrnsie Award. I certainly do appreciate it.”
To watch the presentation, please CLICK HERE.
Sunday’s NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES race telecast from Sonoma Raceway is FOX Sports’ final Cup Series race of the 2016 season. FOX Sports continues through the remainder of the year with live, exclusive coverage of the entire NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES season. In addition, NASCAR RACE HUB airs daily on FS1, and NASCAR RACEDAY and NASCAR VICTORY LANE air before and after, respectively, every Cup Series race through the end of the year. FOX Sports is back in February with live coverage of the 2017 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES, NASCAR XFINITY SERIES and NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES seasons from Daytona.
FOX Sports PR
- CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT LONG BEACH: Team Chevy Practice Report - April 19, 2024
- Burt Myers on Pole for Hayes Jewelers 200, Ward Starts Second at Bowman Gray - April 19, 2024
- O’Ward Takes Top Spot in Tight Opening Long Beach Practice - April 19, 2024