Timothy Steele

Student Spotlight: Timothy Steele

Growing Up…Fast!

Westfield Senior, Timothy Steele Is On The Road To Indy

Timothy SteeleFrom a very early age, Timothy Steele’s focus has been on motorsports. As a toddler, his favorite toys were race cars and he loved to watch races on TV. By the age of 4, he was using chalk to draw race tracks on the driveway. Timothy spent countless hours driving his Big Wheel around his race tracks and before long, he was timing his laps and going for the “New track record”, as IMS announcer Tom Carnegie would say. This went on for years and Timothy eventually wore out the Big Wheel.

When Timothy was 10-years-old, he started racing competitively on the oval dirt track at Ben-Hur Speedway in Crawfordsville, Indiana. On this high-speed dirt track, Timothy learned valuable lessons in kart control and racing strategy.

At the age of 11, Timothy moved from the dirt tracks to the paved road courses. At this point in Timothy’s young racing career, his parents, Rob & Kim Steele, reached out to former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver, Derek Daly, to ask for some advice. Timothy was improving steadily, he was fully committed to racing, but his parents didn’t have any racing experience, and thus, they were unable to coach him. As Timothy’s driver coach since 2014, Derek Daly has been instrumental in the continued development of Timothy’s racing skills.

Timothy earned his first racing trophy shortly after he started working with Derek…Timothy now has 77 trophies & medals in his collection, but this doesn’t mean that racing is easy for him. It’s a very challenging endeavor and it’s difficult to win races. Timothy says, “The best racers in the world, like Lewis Hamilton, might win 30% of the races in their career. Mario Andretti won 16% of the time in his amazing career. So even if you’re elite in this sport, you have to be prepared for the challenges and plenty of disappointing results. I love to race, win or lose, it’s always very exciting. Finishing P1 is the greatest feeling but even if I don’t win, I’m counting the days to my next race”.

Timothy SteeleDuring the 2017 racing season, with continued coaching support from Derek Daly, it all started to click for Timothy and he was consistently in the lead pack of karts, battling for the win. In the last three years, Timothy won the Class Championship at New Castle Motorsports Park, he won the Race for Riley Hospital at NCMP, he was the Series Champion in the 2020 Stars Championship Series, and he had podium finishes at the last three USAC National races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.   

With 7 years of karting experience, and the dream of becoming a professional race car driver, it’s time for Timothy to transition from karts to race cars. He knows that it won’t be easy and he knows that sponsorship is needed to get to the next level. In the coming year, Timothy’s goal is to race in the SCCA F1600 Championship Series. He and his family are actively seeking the funding for this important step in Timothy’s career. In the meantime, Timothy is a senior at Westfield High School. He is a straight-A student, he takes Honors and AP courses, and he was invited to join the National Honor Society. Follow along on Instagram and find updates on Timothy’s racing @timothysteele_ and @steelecarreras

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