Steve Butler (born September 26, 1956) is an American former auto racing driver. He won six national driving championships in USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown open-wheel racing. Butler was highly regarded for his technical skills and performed chief mechanic duties on several of his winning race cars. He also communicated his view of racing to fans both as author and television commentator. Despite a relatively brief racing career (1981–1993), Butler is an inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the USAC Hall of Fame, and the Hoosier Auto Racing Fan's Hall of Fame. He retired at the age of 37 to pursue both an engineering career and more time with his growing family. Butler currently resides in Kokomo, IN.

United States Auto Club records In 1990, Butler became the first four-time Sprint Car National Champion in the 34-year history of the United States Automobile Club. USACUSAC Sprint Car Champions Butler won USAC sprint car races on pavement, dirt, and on dirt with wings. He is the only driver to win in all of these categories during a single USAC season. In addition to his Sprint Car championships, Butler won two championships in USAC's Silver Crown division.USAC Silver Crown Champions Winning six national championships places Butler in the top-tier of all-time USAC driving champions.USAC Champions-All Divisions This distinction includes all championships in any of USAC's national championship racing divisions including IndyCar, Silver Crown Car, Sprint Car, Midget, and Stock Car.

Early life Butler was born to parents Bruce and Sharon Butler and has three sisters Linda, Laura, and Melanie. Due to Bruce's career as an USAF pilot, the family lived in England for four years shortly after Steve's birth.

Bruce loved all things mechanical—especially those that involve speed. He repaired and modified cars in his free time and also owned a go-kart that he drove on remote parts of the British aircraft parking ramps, often allowing young Steve to ride in his lap.

Shortly after the family returned from England, Bruce was killed in an airplane crash. At the time, Butler was six years old but had already caught his father's enthusiasm for cars and airplanes. Butler set out to learn as much as possible about these mechanical wonders without benefit of his father's tutelage. By the age of 14, he had disassembled and rebuilt the family car and became known as the neighborhood "motor-head."

By the age of 20, Butler was a full-time student in the Flight Technology school at Vincennes University. Planning to become a pilot, he had earned his commercial pilot license and had distinguished himself by winning the school's "Top Aerobatic Pilot" award. However, he left school early to launch his professional motorcycle racing career. He was anxious to get serious about racing and was concerned that he was already four years older than most of his professional motorcycle racing peers.

Racing career

Motorcycle racing Butler launched his amateur bike racing career upon graduating from high school. His first opportunity came when a buddy agreed to let him race an old bike under a lease/purchase agreement. This involved Steve paying $25/week for the machine with earnings from flipping hamburgers after school.

Realizing that his meager budget was insufficient to race competitively, Butler prevailed upon a friend to provide (free) transport to/from the races. This allowed Steve to buy tires and other racing essentials. The strategy worked and allowed Butler to begin winning races.

In 1976, Butler was able to win the AMA District 15 (Indiana) ½ Mile Flat Track Championship which convinced him to advance to professional motorcycle racing. However, in his first pro season Butler was severely injured during a race at the Onekama, MI ½ mile dirt track. He remained in the hospital for 30 days and spent nine months recovering from his injuries. This was the fourth time in four years that he found himself recovering from fractured bones resulting from motorcycle racing.

In 1978, Butler rebounded from his injuries by winning a pro race at Beaver Dam, WI—his very first event after recovering from the Onekama crash. More than 20 years later, Butler's exploits are recalled in a 2001 Cycle News article featuring racers successful in both motorcycle and automobile racing. This piece placed Butler on a short-list of motorcycle/car racers that included legends such as Joe Leonard, Swede Savage, and Steve Morehead

Butler began 1979 aboard a Harley-Davidson XR-750—famous for both its performance and high maintenance costs. Unfortunately, these costs became prohibitive and Butler had to stop racing mid-season due to insufficient finances. At this point, he began attending local sprint car races and became inspired to abandon the unreliable Harley for a new kind of racer.

Early sprint cars If Butler's motorcycle racing was conducted on a "shoe-string" budget, his entry into Sprint Car racing was seemingly hopeless—he was attempting to enter an advanced class of auto racing with no money and no prior auto racing experience. He was also nearly 25 years old and the sport was tilting towards very young drivers; in just a few years Jeff Gordon would begin his own sprint car career at the age of 13. Undaunted, Butler jumped in with both feet by selling all of his race bikes and his transport van (his only personal transportation). When liquidating his assets was insufficient to buy a sprint car, he convinced his future wife, Thomasa Brock, to help him obtain a loan using her own home as collateral. This provided enough money to buy a beat-up old Sprint Car.

Butler spent the winter of 1980–81 rebuilding the crashed and worn-out car in his mom's garage, using only hand tools and a gas-welding rig. The lack of sophisticated tools made this work very labor-intensive. Butler relied on a dedicated group of friends who volunteered to provide the labor and skills necessary to get the fabrication work done. Steve planned the overall design, performed the engine building, and participated in the fabrication work.

As the 1981 season opened, Butler was pouring all available money into the race car and was still without street wheels of any sort. Once again, a friend came to the rescue by offering to tow the race car. Despite these financial problems, Butler was able to win his very first (heat) race. This quick success led to Butler's first big break when Ezra Beachy, a local engine shop owner, offered Butler an engine sponsorship

Although the Beachy engine sponsorship was very exciting, Butler's immediate problem was that he was rapidly running out of the money needed for essentials such as race tires and fuel. After only three weeks of racing, it was now uncertain if the team could even make the next race, let alone a full season. The atmosphere was gloomy, within Mom Butler's garage/race shop, when a newspaper delivery kid mentioned that one of his customers was a race fan. Butler immediately followed-up on this tip by arranging to meet with Bud Whitacre, a local supermarket owner. This led to $500 for a new set of tires and the beginning of a lifelong relationship.

In January 1983, Butler began the year by marrying Thomasa. Unfortunately, the couple could not yet afford a honey-moon. This problem was solved, later that year, when Butler won the 1983 Paragon Speedway track championship. Instead of a trophy, track promoter Mike Johnson supplied the couple with a trip to the Bahamas which became their belated honey-moon trip.

United States Auto Club Racing

Debut In 1982, Butler's first USAC appearance was dramatic. On his first qualifying lap, still driving his original home-built race car, Butler set a new track record at Bloomington, IN; on the second lap he flipped out of the track. Steve did return to race six USAC races in 1983, posting top-three finishes in half of these. However, his primary focus was on winning the 1983 Paragon track championship.

1984 Butler mounted his first effort to campaign the full USAC Sprint Car series in 1984. He quickly seized national attention by winning his first USAC race on live television. The Jud Larson/Don Branson memorial, held on the high-banked ½ mile at Eldora Speedway, was broadcast on ABC's Wide World of Sports. The win was unexpected, as Butler started 10th behind formidable veterans such as Jack Hewitt, Sheldon Kinser, and Rickey Hood. However, Butler quickly moved through the field to take the lead from Hewitt on the 16th lap to claim his first USAC victory.

In June, Steve and Thomasa became parents with the birth of Jennifer. Just two days later, Butler won the annual Kokomo Classic race with both his wife and newborn daughter in attendance.

By the end of the year, Butler had won five USAC sprint races, one less than eventual series champion Rickey Hood. The most impressive of these was at the flat Terre Haute Action Track ½ mile; Butler started seventh and then drove past visiting champions Ken Schrader (defending USAC champ) and Steve Kinser (defending World of Outlaws champ) to earn the win. Butler went on to finish the season third in USAC points.

1985 In February, Butler started the 1985 season driving in Phoenix (AZ) in a locally owned car. In April, as the Midwest Spring began, he was back in the Whitacre/Beachy sprint car. However, by the end of the year, he had driven for at least nine different race teams and had advanced to second in the USAC sprint championship standings.

In August, Butler hooked-up with Phil Poor, who had just purchased his first sprint car by way of a bargain-priced package. This deal included the car, engine, spares, transport trailer, and even a rusted out Chevy Suburban tow vehicle. Butler and Poor began to win races with the old sprint car even though it had been cast aside—as uncompetitive—by its previous owner. In response, Poor named the under-appreciated car "Ol' Whitey." This little team was the genesis for many years of racing success, as Butler and Poor went on to win four USAC titles together.

Late in the season, Butler joined with the Jarrett racing team to compete in the Springfield Silver Crown race, finishing in the top ten. The new team then finished second in the annual Hoosier Hundred at Indianapolis, nearly winning the race. These performances earned Butler the title of 1985 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year.

Championship Years

1986

In 1986, Ol' Whitey returned as the centerpiece of Phil Poor's small race team. With new sponsorship from Jeff Stoops, Butler drove the car to a racing season. They won USAC races, AllStar Circuit of Champions races and posted some top-five World of Outlaws finishes. The team also won many non-sanctioned races including the Indiana Sprint Week championship. In September, Butler capped-off the year by winning the USAC Sprint Championship.

Butler continued to improve in the Silver Crown series and advanced to second in the 1986 championship standings. At Indianapolis Raceway Park, Steve impressed the racing fraternity by nearly winning in his very first attempt to race on pavement. Butler started in 16th and then proceeded to drive into the lead, passing NASCAR and Indy 500 competitors such as Ken Schrader, Gary Bettenhausen, and Rich Vogler. Although tire problems dropped him to second at the finish, Butler's race-leading performance had grabbed attention.

Butler finished the season with a win at Gas City, Indiana. This win came the day after Austin, his new son, was born. As with Jennifer's birth, the Butler's celebrated their new child with a race win.

1987