Steve Casebolt - A Rookie No More

There are a lot of Dirt Late Model drivers who started their careers in karts. But Indiana driver Steve Casebolt will readily tell you that the cards fell his way because of his kart career.

"It was in 1996 when I met Charlie Watson, a guy that liked racing and just happened to know that I raced karts," recalls Casebolt. "One thing led to another and he ended up buying me a couple cars and motors and even a truck and trailer. I sure owe that guy a lot because my career probably would never have started without him."

That kart career of 10 years, which saw a hundred wins, transpired mostly on dirt. Casebolt feels that background has paid big dividends. "Besides the experience on dirt, the karts taught me to be competitive and learn to have that desire to win," he says.

Even though this has been a storybook career so far in the Dirt Late Models, it didn't turn out the way Casebolt initially desired. And it goes back to his beloved Eldora Speedway, located just 50 miles from his Richmond, Indiana, hometown.

While this legendary short track is well known for its famous Dirt Late Model events, The Dream and the World 100, the high-speed oval has been equally well known for its Sprint Car racing.

And it was Sprint Car competition that drew Casebolt's attention in his early years. "Steve Kinser was my main man back in those days, and I really wanted to go in that direction," says Casebolt. "But my dad was having nothing of that deal, telling me that those cars were just too dangerous."

So the connection with Watson was a saving grace.

Barely out of his teens during the '99 season, Casebolt qualified for the World 100 at Eldora, coming up through his heat and finishing 16th in the feature. This was definitely some heavy stuff for a driver so young. In Eldora's other big race, The Dream, Casebolt qualified third and finished seventh in the 2000 race. Again, very heavy stuff for a youngster barely out of karts.

Running with the tough STARS series that year, he raised eyebrows by earning Rookie of the Year. "That was a great honor," he says, "but I was more proud of how we did it. First of all, our equipment was pretty old, and also, we had very little help getting the car ready."

There were no wins with STARS, but he was close to victory a number of times, with five runner-up finishes.

Casebolt says that initial experience in Dirt Late Models wasn't quite what he thought it would be. "I figured it was going to be real tough competition with everybody staying to themselves," he says. "Boy, was I wrong. Dirt Late Model racing is more like a family, and I have made a number of very good friends.

"Granted, there was lots of technical help from the drivers and teams when I was younger. But make no mistake, they sure didn't cut me any slack out there on the track."

During his early career, Casebolt was a college student at Ball State University, adding even more pressure to his fledgling career and placing tough constraints on his time. Traveling to tracks, homework, time spent at school-it all resulted in Casebolt functioning on few hours of sleep much of the time.

"When others were having fun on the weekends," he says, "I was home working or competing in my race cars."

Yet he was still able to earn his degree in business from Ball State.

In addition to driving a 750hp Dirt Late Model, Casebolt has also performed well in another physical activity. He was an excellent distance runner in high school and early during his college career. In fact, his skills could have placed him at a high collegiate level had he been able to spend the required time on running.

In 2001, he jumped around to different venues and earned no points to speak of while earning lots of Top 3 and Top 5 finishes. "It was a learning situation," he recalls. "During that season, my owner decided to hang it up and gave me all the equipment. It was a turning point in my career and allowed me to try some of my own ideas."

The '03 season was a good one, as he won a number of races, including big events at Florence (Kentucky) Speedway, Gas City (Indiana) Speedway, and others. "I was running against very tough competition and holding my own," he says.

After a horrible '04 season, Casebolt stepped up to the National Lucas Oil Series in 2005. Despite getting started well into the season, he still finished 11th in points and was able to maintain his rookie status.

"Heck, if I had been able to race the whole season at that same level," he recalls, "I think I could have finished in about fourth place in the points."

Last season, he was back with the Lucas Oil Series and began to really show his stuff, earning the second Rookie of the Year award of his career. This time, though, he was competing against talented national drivers such as Donnie Moran, Matt Miller, Don O'Neal, Earl Pearson Jr., and others. During the season, he garnered two wins and five seconds, getting one of those runner-up finishes at the national Hillbilly 100 event.

But a big change occurred in August of last season when Casebolt landed a ride with owner Dale Beitler. "It wasn't long after hooking up with Dale that I realized how far I was from being able to do it successfully myself," Casebolt says. "He's provided me with the top equipment."

The biggest change to his many fans, however, is that Casebolt, who turned 29 on July 4, had to change his longstanding C9 car number to 19. It will take a little getting used to, but that new number should quickly become associated with Steve Casebolt because it will be very visible running in the front of the pack much of the time.

Casebolt's Dirt Late Model Pointers
As told to Bill Holder

Driving
When you are starting your racing career in these cars, I would highly recommend getting to know somebody who really understands them. Talk with him, ask questions, and watch him operate, and it will make you a lot better in the long run.

If you want to race these cars, start driving one from the start. If you start with a Modified or a Street Stock, that racing is not as serious as these cars, and you could develop bad habits. The Dirt Late Model cars are so precise, and everything has to be perfect to run up front with them.

You can learn a lot from the numerous driving schools that are now available. Many of them are run by drivers, which makes the schools very effective learning tools.

Technology
It is so important that you understand the technology of these cars. You will be a better driver if you can diagnose the particular technical problem you are having, and even better, be able to fix it yourself.

Money is usually a problem when starting careers. For that reason, I would recommend buying a used car, and in particular, one that has been driven by a good driver and has been well maintained. That way, you are getting a car that has already been set up. That will really speed up the learning process.