Steve Boggs
Steve Boggs was a born gearhead, He and his brother Ron began tinkering with mechanical equipment, including the family tractor, as soon as they were big enough to do so. The pair raced together as the Boggs Brothers until the end of the 1977 season. They notched their first national event win that year and Ron made the decision to stop racing. Steve continued in the sport, and before long became a recognized and sought after crew chief and engine person. Over the years Steve has always had the support of his wife of forty-four years, Cheryl and sons, Stevie and Scott, five grandchildren, three great grandchildren and stepson, Todd.
The first car Steve officially owned was a 1958 Oldsmobile but that was replaced with a 1958 Corvette that soon found its way to the racetrack. By 1965 the need to go quicker and faster nudged Steve into building and racing an injected, big block Chevrolet powered A/Altered Roadster. That car carried him to the class winner circle at the NHRA US Nationals in 1967. Always looking better and more dependable performance, in 1969 Steve fielded a supercharged, big block Chevrolet powered AA/Gas Roadster and finished the year by winning the AA/FA trophy at the NHRA US nationals.
In 1971 he stepped up to a blown hemi powered AMX, BB/Gas Funny car competing mostly at NHRA tracks and in 1973, with a new Vega body on board, he was also able to post an impressive performance streak at the UDRA events as well.
Steve’s notoriety as a Crew Chief really stepped up when he assumed the position for Tony Bartone’s TAFC Funny Car in 1992. The team ended the 1996 season winning the NHRA World TAFC Funny Car title. That year also marked the beginning of a relationship for the pair of over 34 years with the team posting an impressive career of 42 NHRA National Events, and at one point winning 33 consecutive rounds.
Not limited to tuning just alcohol cars, in 1993 he took on the job of tuning Joe Penland’s TAFC Funny car at the same time. He continued in this paired position until the end of 1995 when Penland’s car won the NHRA class World Championship and Penland retired from racing. Bartone and Steve posted their first NHRA TAFC World Championship win in 1996.
In 2001 Tony took over the driving chores of Jerry Toliver’s Fuel Funny Car and from 2004 to 2008 he drove for Jim Dunn’s team. During this period, Steve assumed the tuning chores for John Fink, Morgan Lucas and for Mitch Meyers’s A/Fuel Dragster, with which they were able to win the NHRA class World Championship in 2004. Bartone retired from driving in 2013 and began competing with a new team, Bartone Bros. Racing in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Championship circuit and Steve was right there as the team manager and engine tuner. This team has won the class championship three times, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and is still its most consistent winner.
In 2013, Steve and Bertone also aired up with Rick Jackson on his TAFC car and shared the winner spotlight with thirteen national event wins. Bertone formed a new AA/A Funny Car team in 2014, with Boggs as the Crew Chief/Tuner. The team put Sean Bellemeur in the driver’s seat in 2018 and to date has posted forty-nine national class wins, three mid-west national event wins and five NHRA World Championships and its second season with a perfect score of seven national event wins and three regional wins.
Don’t go looking for Steve Boggs during the new racing season because he will be located at the racetrack as usual and as usual overseeing the tune up of the Bertone Alcohol Funny Car.
