BRADENTON, Fla. — Long-time racing veteran and asphalt sprint car kingpin David Steele was killed in a crash on the opening lap of Saturday night’s Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series race at Desoto Speedway.
Steele, a five-time polesitter and two-time winner of the Little 500 non-winged sprint car race at Indiana’s Anderson Speedway, was 42.
The Tampa, Fla. driver started 12th for the 30-lap main event and was reportedly going to the high side entering turn one when his car clipped the right rear tire of Sport Allen’s machine, causing Steele’s No. 33 to catch air as it turned around, backing into the wall and quickly coming to a stop.
Following the crash, the remainder of the night’s racing program at Desoto was cancelled, and Steele’s death was later confirmed by track officials in a supplied statement.
“Desoto Speedway owners and staff are saddened by tonight’s passing of David Steele in the sprint car feature,” the statement read. “Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends who were all in attendance.”
Steele’s career had come full-circle in recent years, ending just the way it started, in the seat of open wheel cars in his native state of Florida.
In between, Steele relocated to the Midwest for a period and took the United States Auto Club by storm, winning the 2001 and 2003 Turkey Night Grand Prix for USAC National Midgets at California’s Irwindale Speedway before adding back-to-back USAC Silver Crown Series championships to his resume in 2004 and 2005.
All told, Steele won 26 USAC National Sprint Car features, tied for 15th all-time; 18 USAC National Midget features, sitting 35th all-time; and 16 USAC Silver Crown features, sitting third all-time behind Jack Hewitt and Brian Tyler.
During his Midwestern stint, Steele also dominated the non-winged asphalt sprint car scene, winning the 1996 Little 500 from the pole after setting a four-lap track record in qualifying and leading 308 of the race’s 500 laps.
That win was his first of two in the crown jewel event, as he added a second triumph in 2009 for car owner Lenny Puglio.
Steele’s prowess in qualifying at the ‘Little Five’ was legendary, however; as he won the pole for the race a total of five times: in 1996, 2000 and a run of three straight poles from 2002 to 2004.
His final Little 500 start, coming last May, yielded a runner-up finish to Kody Swanson in his iconic No. 33 car.
Steele also spent time at the national levels of motorsports as well, making three Verizon IndyCar Series starts in 1998 and adding two NASCAR XFINITY Series starts for car owner Felix Sabates at the start of the 2000 season.
He also made appearances in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, the ASA National Tour and the ARCA Racing Series over the course of his career.
Steele was the all-time sprint car feature wins leader in the state of Florida and a 14-time winner in the Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series, including wins in the first five features the series ever held following its inception at the start of the 2016 season.
His last series win was during the most recent Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series race, held at 417 Southern Speedway on Feb. 25, allowing him to cross the century threshold with his 100th win in Floridian sprint car competition.
The staff at Race Chaser Online sends its condolences, thoughts and prayers to the Steele family and the sprint car racing community during this time.
Photographer and sprint car journalist David Sink contributed to this story.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
Follow RCO on Twitter: @RaceChaserNews
