It was nine years ago that drag racing lost one of its true gentleman and brightest young star, and nearly a decade later, is still remembered as one of the best fabricators and racers to ever partake in the sport.

Steve Grebeck lost his life on his March 3, 2002 while competing at the annual Fun Ford Weekend Spring Break Shootout held at the Orlando Speedworld Dragway. Grebeck was competing in the top level Pro 5.0 category and pitted alongside fellow Blue Oval veteran Bill Rimmer during eliminations. Less than seven seconds after taking the green light, Grebeck’s turbocharged Mustang made contact with Rimmer’s machine and in an instant, the doorslammer racing world would never be quite the same.

Grebeck (second from left) and team owner Steve Halprin (center) and their crew. Image: Gilsbach Racecraft

Grebeck embarked on his drag racing journey at just 15 years of age after capturing the eye of Dave Lyall, a noted drag racer who worked for both Ford and Holbrook Performance. Grebeck would later join Lyall at Roush Industries and had his hands in many of Roush’s special vehicle projects, one of which was “Stormin Norman” Gray’s ’87 convertible Mustang. As part of his position with Roush, Steve would test drive the vehicles in order to tune the chassis for customers. And his abilities behind the wheel caught Gray’s attention and Steve was offered the opportunity to drive the car at select races.

Steve would involve himself with other high profile names and projects, working as a fabricator for Watson Industries, helping to produce the Shelby XD-1 experimental drag car, and teamed up with racers and tuners the likes of John Meany, Ross Stomp, and Mike Moran in various capacities. His own Steve Grebeck Racecraft also built machines for top names like Pat Musi, Marc Dantoni,, and Tony Christian. He also put the 2000 NSCA Outlaw Street championship on his resume.

Grebecks final set of wheels: a 2001 Ford Mustang featuring turbocharged power that unleashed a then mind-boggling 6.65 in 2001.

Grebecks final ride, a 2001 Mustang owned by Steve Halprin, was the second car that the pair campaigned together, and represented a whole new approach to fast doorslammer racing. And the Pro Mod-style machine proved its worth, netting the first 200 MPH run out of the box in 2001 and breaking into the sixes later that year. Before the debut season came to a close, Grebeck and Halrpin had shocked the racing world with bests of 6.65 seconds at over 213 MPH.

For most of his 36 years, racing was Steve Grebeck’s life, and on that fateful Sunday afternoon nine years ago, that life was sadly cut far too short. He went out doing what he loved. But for those who met Steve, read about him, or had the opportunity to watch him race, his memory lives on.