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ARCA: Steele Withdraws from Salem, Texas Races

11 September 1998

TOLEDO, OH: Tim Steele, 3-time ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series champion and the winningest ARCA driver of the 1990s, has withdrawn his entries for the Eddie Gilstrap Motors Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway Sept. 13 and for the Cowtown 250 at Texas Motor Speedway Sept. 19.

"I got banged around in the accident on the backstretch at Atlanta (Aug. 28) and really haven't felt right since," said Steele from his Coopersville Michigan race shop. "I've learned to assess when I am and when I am not physically able to perform at my best in a race car. If I can't be 100% then I'm putting myself and my fellow drivers in a bad position. So we'll sit these races out, get my physical condition sorted out and go from there."

Steele, coming off his 2nd consecutive ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series championship, suffered closed head injuries in a practice accident at Atlanta Motor Speedway in November in Bud Moore's Ford while preparing for his NASCAR Winston Cup debut with that team. He subsequently withdrew from efforts to drive in Winston Cup races at Daytona in February and Indianapolis in August due to his physical condition, mixing in ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde victories at Pocono in June and July and at Pike's Peak Int'l Raceway in July.

Steele expects to reassess his situation later this month.