97forever
Team Owner
About a fraction of an inch and Tim Steele could have owned NASCAR.One little opportunity,one little rotation of the earth or a solar flare and it could have been 4X champion Tim Steele by now.
Tim is only 35 years old today and though he bravely and optimistically struggles on.....his shot at the big time is effectively over.While watching the arca race during the rain delay today that became painfully clear.Don't get me wrong,I dont personally know Tim.Couldn't tell you from a personal standpoint.Just know what I have been told.
I have been lucky enough to hang around Hueytown and sit in on some of Bobby Allison's tales of races and glory.And according to Bobby,well HE is the best ever.Red Farmer is 'close to as good'...and Tim Steele?Tim Steele once drove for Bobby.And could have been as good.85 WC wins good.
A lot of folks of the 'since-Gordon' era have never heard of this stock car driver.What a shame that is.A real brief thumbnail of his ASA-ARCA record is astonishing though.After starting his career at age 5 racing of all things motorcycles on ice,against 14 year olds...he won.Right out of the gate.From ages 16-18 Tim won ROTY honors in NAMRA mini-champ cars and two consectutive championships in those cars.
He hit ASA at 21 years old and beat Ted Musgrave,Bob Senneker and Scott Hansen in his 17th start.But thats just ASA right?At the age of 24 at the winchester400 Nascar all-pro series he raced against three up and coming Nascar youngsters:Bobby Labonte,Kenny Wallace and Jeff Gordon.Along with a full field of guys like Butch Miller.Tim won handily,beating NASCAR's future superstars in a series he as well as they were only part-time in.
And ARCA?Davey Allison advised Tim that the fast way to get 'noticed' would be to shoot for ARCA ROTY honors.Tim did.And at the end of that season,his ROTY was safe as he was the Champion that year.In his rookie year.
His nick name 'the man of Steele' was born here.By the time this 2003 ARCA season started he had 135 career starts,41 wins,including three straight at Talledega.
But Talledega was rough on Tim.Smacking him up in october 1999 and landing him in a Birmingham hospital with mild brain damage.And that was just the start.His CTS start,where he won a pole and led at nashville,was ended by this accident.And then the pain killers came along.And the addiction to them.And several aborted ARCA starts...all attempts to get back in form.And all failures.Tim Steele has still run good from time to time...still much better than average.But seeing him after his wreck at Nashville and the interview was not pretty for Tim fans.Everything from his talk to his walk is different.Impaired is the word that comes to mind.
And that is just a crying shame for the driver who could have likely been one of the best ever.
Sorry to seem depressing but it's just a sad story really.A lot of IF's involved in the Tim Steele story.If only the wreck didn't happen,If only Bobby would have had sponsorship,etc.
Just a bummer.
Tim is only 35 years old today and though he bravely and optimistically struggles on.....his shot at the big time is effectively over.While watching the arca race during the rain delay today that became painfully clear.Don't get me wrong,I dont personally know Tim.Couldn't tell you from a personal standpoint.Just know what I have been told.
I have been lucky enough to hang around Hueytown and sit in on some of Bobby Allison's tales of races and glory.And according to Bobby,well HE is the best ever.Red Farmer is 'close to as good'...and Tim Steele?Tim Steele once drove for Bobby.And could have been as good.85 WC wins good.
A lot of folks of the 'since-Gordon' era have never heard of this stock car driver.What a shame that is.A real brief thumbnail of his ASA-ARCA record is astonishing though.After starting his career at age 5 racing of all things motorcycles on ice,against 14 year olds...he won.Right out of the gate.From ages 16-18 Tim won ROTY honors in NAMRA mini-champ cars and two consectutive championships in those cars.
He hit ASA at 21 years old and beat Ted Musgrave,Bob Senneker and Scott Hansen in his 17th start.But thats just ASA right?At the age of 24 at the winchester400 Nascar all-pro series he raced against three up and coming Nascar youngsters:Bobby Labonte,Kenny Wallace and Jeff Gordon.Along with a full field of guys like Butch Miller.Tim won handily,beating NASCAR's future superstars in a series he as well as they were only part-time in.
And ARCA?Davey Allison advised Tim that the fast way to get 'noticed' would be to shoot for ARCA ROTY honors.Tim did.And at the end of that season,his ROTY was safe as he was the Champion that year.In his rookie year.
His nick name 'the man of Steele' was born here.By the time this 2003 ARCA season started he had 135 career starts,41 wins,including three straight at Talledega.
But Talledega was rough on Tim.Smacking him up in october 1999 and landing him in a Birmingham hospital with mild brain damage.And that was just the start.His CTS start,where he won a pole and led at nashville,was ended by this accident.And then the pain killers came along.And the addiction to them.And several aborted ARCA starts...all attempts to get back in form.And all failures.Tim Steele has still run good from time to time...still much better than average.But seeing him after his wreck at Nashville and the interview was not pretty for Tim fans.Everything from his talk to his walk is different.Impaired is the word that comes to mind.
And that is just a crying shame for the driver who could have likely been one of the best ever.
Sorry to seem depressing but it's just a sad story really.A lot of IF's involved in the Tim Steele story.If only the wreck didn't happen,If only Bobby would have had sponsorship,etc.
Just a bummer.
