Three-time I-5 Tour winner Moore dies
Longtime Pacific Northwest Dirt Late Model racer Steve Moore of Scio, Ore., a three-time winner on the I-5 Late Model Tour, died Tuesday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His passing was mourned by those in the Willamette Speedway racing community and beyond.
"Steve touched so many lives both on and off the racetrack," Willamette Speedway posted on its Facebook page. "Every one of us has a Steve story. A memory that makes us laugh, a lesson he taught us, a moment when he showed up when someone needed him most or maybe he just yelled at us in Steve fashion. The racing community lost one of its good ones, and there will be a hole in our hearts and in the pits that can never truly be filled."
The driver of the No. 21, Moore was a former Willamette champion, a 2014 Clair Cup winner at the Lebanon, Ore., track and captured an I-5 Tour victory at Willamette in 2011. He also had I-5 Tour victories at Medford's Southern Oregon Speedway and Cottage Grove (Ore.) Speedway.
A GoFundMe fundraiser to assist the family was set up by fellow racer Chris Frank.
"We know Steve is looking down on us, probably telling us to keep pushing, keep fighting, and never lift," Frank wrote. "His legacy will live on in every lap, every race, and every memory we shared."
Moore's long career continued through the 2025 season with four starts, including a runner-up finish on Labor Day weekend at Willamette. According to DirtonDirt records, Moore's last Late Model victory came July 29, 2019, at Willamette.
