Steve Sharp
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Born in San Diego Steve comes from a line of enthusiasts going back to his great grandfather who helped to create the first Indy 500 winner the Marmon Wasp. Along the way Steve was formed by experiences with both motorcycles and cars.
His father (also Steve) grew up in Indianapolis and is an avid motor sports fan. Together they attended motorcycle events at Ascot Park and sports car racing at Del Mar and Riverside. Sharp’s father owned and worked at Yamaha shops in Pomona and Escondido. While in high school Steve cut his teeth behind the parts counter and found his passion in kart racing during 1971 a sport which he is involved to this day.
Writing came natural; his first published piece was a letter to the famed editor of Rod & Custom Tom Medley. Rod & Custom was his choice growing up as they covered everything from hot rods, drag racing, and model building, to kart racing, and soap box derby.
Besides being an avid kart racer Steve was lucky enough to experience all sorts of motor sport. Unlimited Hydroplanes on San Diego’s Mission Bay, drag racing at Ramona and later the Winter Nationals at Pomona, Can-Am and NASCAR at Riverside as well as motorcycle racing at Ascot and the Elsinore Grand Prix.
“My most memorable experiences were seeing Steve McQueen race at the Elsinore Grand Prix, Garlits win with his back motored car at Pomona, Stirling Moss’s win at the United Stated Grand Prix at Riverside, and Grumpy Jenkins putting Sox and Martin on the trailer with his small bloc Vega.”
“After winning Pomona in the back motored car Garlits actually signed my birth certificate. I was down at the finish area and when he won people jumped the fence to get to where ABC was interviewing him for Wide World of Sports. They had posters of his Lyons clutch explosion, papers, and autograph books… me I had nada so I took a piece of paper out of my wallet and handed it to him to sign. On my way home I realized he signed my birth certificate!”
After working on his art major; Steve’s break came when he was hired at Alston Race Cars in Sacramento ultimately becoming national sales manager. “Chris and Tom Alston were great we worked with Stan Goldstein to create the Alston Factory Trained dealer program and the training during the early 1980s.” Besides the management and sales responsibilities Steve was the Alston NHRA sponsor rep and conducted the Alston Chassis Tuning Seminars across the country in conjunction with NHRA national events. “Stock to Pro Stock we worked on them all,” he said. “It was a great time in my life.”
Steve’s later credits include marketing director at SuperTrapp exhaust, Art Direct for Trader’s Sport Trucks, Direct Sales for Sport Truck and Peterson’s 4 Wheel & Off Road magazines, Advertising Sales at Motor Trend, and Agency Manager for Pro Source Advertising. Most recently Steve was the Operations Manager for Jim Russell Racing Schools Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. Over the years Steve has contributed feature and technical articles to Popular Hot Rodding, Car Craft and others.
Besides being the consummate gear head Steve is a volunteer for the American Red Cross in San Francisco. His current position is the Public Affairs Lead and also works in the San Francisco Emergency Operations Center as Government Liaison. Steve is an active member of the San Francisco Red Cross Leadership Council that plans and coordinates emergency response in the city. Steve’s initial Red Cross experience came as a team lead during the Katrina/Rita hurricane response in South East Texas.
Currently Steve is the Northern California Regional Manager for Parts & People newspaper. Parts & People is an industry publication and prints six editions in the Western U.S. Parts & People is distributed to dealerships, parts wholesalers, repair and collision centers. Sharp provides business and event articles as well as manages advertising for his region as well as nationally. The publication can be viewed at www.partsandpeople.com.
You may find Steve at shows in NorCal from the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to the Goodguy’s events at Pleasanton. Racing is in Steve’s blood so don’t be surprised if you see him track side shooting Infineon’s Save Mart 350 NASCAR or Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s American Le Mans race.
“I’m really looking forward to being a part of Hotrod Hotline,” he said. “I love the cars and most of all the people in our sport and our industry. This is going to be great! I was heavily involved with Pro Street back in the day and was a judge at the annual Road Kings show in L.A. It’s a bit of a home coming and I’m thrilled to be a part of the team!”