USAC'S WESTERN STATES
2005 CHAMPION
Western States Midget
Champion
Dave
Steele
A Floridian by birth, Steele continues to run competitively in the Midwest with USAC. He has won the last two Silver Crown Series championships, and has won in all three of USAC’s National Series each year since 2001. He also surpassed the 50-win mark in USAC National competition in 2005 and is among the leaders in several Silver Crown statistical categories.
USAC Career
· 2005 – Piloted co-owners Bob East and Tony Stewart’s Silver Crown car to his second straight title and the team’s fourth, recording four victories – all of which came on pavement tracks; Led a season-high 360 laps; Also collected two National Sprint car victories and a Midget triumph and finished 16th and 11th respectively in the final points standings; Finished 11th in 57th annual “Little 500” at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, falling out on Lap 462 as engine woes sidelined him while leading
· 2004 – Earned his first National driving title, winning the Weld Racing Silver Crown Series points standings; Led series record 290 consecutive laps and won twice to beat Bud Kaeding by 47 points; Strapped into a Sprint car 10 times and won twice, including a race at Pikes Peak International Raceway, where he set an all-time one-lap Sprint car record for a mile at 144.980 mph; Won three times and set fast time for four events in 12 Midget starts driving for Bruce Nicholas
·
2003 –
Won in all three National divisions for the third straight year, and finished
fourth in Silver Crown points
standings and 13th in National Midgets; Won twice
in Silver Crown competition and added three poles; Posted Midget victories in
the prestigious “Turkey Night Grand Prix” and on the miles of Pikes Peak and
Nazareth, Pa.; Lone Sprint car victories came at Nazareth
· 2002 – Nearly won Silver Crown Series championship but finished second in rundown, thanks to victories at Avondale, Ariz. and Richmond, Va.; Midget season reached high point in September when he claimed the biggest paycheck in Midget racing history – over $60,000 – in a twin 25-lap feature sweep at Indianapolis Raceway Park; In addition to IRP antics, won “Copper World Classic” and Anderson, Ind. Midget races en route to finishing ninth in standings; Wound up 13th in Sprint point standings, winning four times; Had scored victories in all three National divisions by the end of April, the earliest that feat had been accomplished
· 2001 – Ran all 13 Silver Crown races en route to third in final standings; Scored victories at Pikes Peak and Gateway International Raceway and added poles at Phoenix and Gateway, where his qualifying speed was the fastest ever posted in series history; Won two Sprint car races and the “Turkey Night Grand Prix” Midget classic, becoming one of two drivers to win in all three National divisions in this season
· 2000 – Made eight Sprint car starts and posted six Top-5 finishes, finishing 18th in points; Ran only four Silver Crown races but managed a fourth at Indianapolis Raceway Park; Competed in only one National Midget feature
· 1999 – Competed in eight Silver Crown Series races, winning once at Indianapolis Raceway Park and scoring two poles; Ran 11 National Sprint features, winning five races and finishing 12th in points; Made eight National Midget starts and posted a 13th-place finish in points
· 1998 – Won first career Silver Crown Series race at Memphis, Tenn. and first pole at Avondale, Ariz.; Captured “Night Before The 500” Midget classic at Indianapolis Raceway Park and added six other starts en route to 15th in the points standings; Made 11 starts in National Sprint Car Series, notching two victories and finishing 15th in points
· 1997 – Started four Silver Crown Series races and scored a then-career best second at Gateway International Raceway, finishing 37th in points Made National Midget Car Series debut in “Copper World Classic” and added seven other starts and two third-place finishes on his way to 24th in points; Topped previous-best one-lap Sprint car record with a lap of 138 mph, the believed to be the fastest speed ever recorded by a traditional Sprint car at that time; Finished ninth in Sprint points, with a season-high six victories in 15 starts
· 1996 – Made six Silver Crown Series starts, finishing 14th in series points; Posted a lap of 137 mph during Sprint car qualifying at Avondale, Ariz.; Reeled in fourth in Sprint car points standings, winning his first two career features, which were among his 14 Top-10 finishes, and setting four fast qualifying times
· 1995 – Competed in six Silver Crown races, recording two Top-10 finishes, appearing in 20th in final points rundown; Made two National Sprint races with a runner-up finish at Louisville, Ky.
· 1994 – Recorded two starts in Silver Crown action with a season-best 24th at Indianapolis Raceway Park; Participated in two National Sprint races and roped first Top-10 finish
·
1993 –
Made debuts with the organization in Silver Crown and Sprint car competition;
First Silver Crown race came at The Milwaukee Mile as he finished 12th; Made one
start in Sprinters, which came on high banks of Salem, Ind.
http://www.davesteele.com
