Steve Collision
Steve Collision was a diehard drag racer who became the most respected magazine editor of his time. Though “Stevie” new most of the pro-racers and covered them knowledgeably for three decades, his true love was the “little guy”.
Prior to boldly answering a LA Times classified ad placed by Peterson Publishing in 1970, Steve’s life had paralleled that of other young gearheads growing up in Southern California. A series of street racing scares unfortunately redirected his energies towards Lions Dragstrip, where Collision set an AHRA National Record with his 1969 SS396 Chevelle and enjoyed his finest racing moment; a runner-up finish in one of the earliest $1000 to win bracket races at the wheel of his adoptive parent’s bone stocks Buick Riviera.
Steve was only 23 and without a single byline to his credit when his employment interview somehow persuaded Car Craft editor Terry Cook and publisher John raffia to appoint him the staff of the eras largest, most intellectual drag racing magazine. His clever, controversial writing style didn’t always win him fans with Car Craft’s advertising staff between 1970 and 1974, but it did earn him a strong following of loyal readers and racers (pros and sportsman alike). That outspoken style clearly didn’t translate well to National Dragster, where Steve briefly toiled as Associate Editor (for about 15 minutes, he’d like to say) before finding a new home, 3000 miles away from Los Angeles. In 1975, Collision became the editor of Super Stock and Drag Illustrated a position he would occupy three different times: 1975 to 1976, 1980 to 1988, and 1993 to 1998. Each time, Steve he was hired in response to popular demand from loyal readers, influential racers, and advertisers who respected his ability and incorruptibility.
Between hitches with SS&DI, this uniquely versatile editor produced some of the most memorable issues of cars magazine: Muscle Cars, High-Performance Mopar, Bracket Racing USA, and Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords. He also took a shot at doing public relations for Hurst, but never felt comfortable in the role. It was during his historic stint at the helm of Muscle Mustangs that Collision turned the new car purchased from Ford (for one dollar) into the legendary “Mean Mr. Mustang” issue by issue.
It was the combination of the fledgling publication in this particular vehicle that single-handedly launched the late-model Mustang movement. Moreover, it was with this mustang that Stevie set one final national record, in IHRA’s Pure Stock category, in 1987. Later, he would earn NHRA competition Super Gas and Super Comp licenses, and seriously compete in both categories.
His friends remarked that no matter where in the world a new driving school open, it was only a matter of time before Steve would enroll and graduate with honors. Collisions final editorial challenge was rebuilding Racing USA into a wider ranging package entitled Drag Racing USA. It was during a working telephone conversation with one of his favorite contributors and best friends, Bill Wilson, that Stevie scum to a massive heart attack in his home office near Atco Raceway. He was 54. Like some of his fellow photojournalists, Steve he was known for living his life “wide-open”. Unlike most of his peers, Collision remain true to his first loves class and bracket racing; with particular affection for cars with carburetors, doors, and manual transmissions. He worked on them, he drove them, and he wrote about them. He defended their rightful place in drag racing right up to the day he died, on December 14, 2000.