Steve Gibbs
Like so many before him, Steve Gibbs involvement with drag racing began from the ground up as an enthusiastic fan. In the early 1960s he landed a job working part time at the San Gabriel and Fontana dragstrips numbering cars, part-time announcing, and submitting articles to drag News. He recalls just staring at his first striped “official” shirt and thinking that he had really arrived. It was when he became assistant manager of Irwindale Raceway in the mid-1960s that his former career plans in the art in journalism field were forgotten. He also briefly served in management positions at drag strips in Fremont, California and Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1969, he joined NHRA as Advertising Director of National Dragster, and a year later when it increased its national event schedule, Steve was appointed assistant to Event Director Jack Hart. Under Hart, Steve learned the delicate balancing act between quick decision-making and what is best for the sport.
Over the years Steve’s role grew and his creative innovations in safety, track preparation, and event scheduling all played a major role in the growth of NHRA drag racing. He was appointed NHRA’s Vice President of Competition in 1982 and served as liaison between the racers and the organization. His professionalism and concern for the competitors and their problems made him one of the most highly respected officials in any form of motorsports. Under his leadership the modern Safety Safari was born, and their work made the racetracks at NHRA national event sites the best groomed and maintained in all of drag racing. In 1991 he was presented the prestigious Car Craft Magazine All-Star “Ollie” Award for career long contributions to the sport of drag racing. He also played a major role in the creation of the first California Hot Rod Reunion in 1992 and was rewarded for his efforts when he received the Reunion Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
In the early 1990s, Steve formed NHRA Historical Services, which was created together display material and provide the genesis for an NHRA Museum. When the NHRA Motorsports Museum project started to take shape in 1997, Steve expressed the desire to cut back his longtime involvement as head of the competition department in order to take an active role in the museums planning and construction. Chairman Wally parts in the NHRA Board of Directors appointed him as the museums first Executive Director, where he was instrumental in all phases of the museum’s creation.
In 2003 Steve decided to retire and toured the country in a motorhome with his wife Gloria, but he still remains a vital part of the museum as a member of the Board of Directors and was a consultant to special projects like the 50th Anniversary US Nationals and the California and National Hot Rod Reunions. Steve also continues to serve on the Board of Selectors for the international Drag Racing Hall of Fame.