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Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway Hall of Famer Steve Trabue, whose racing career included two Late Model track titles at Kentucky tracks then continued with 25 seasons as a DIRTcar official, died Saturday at a Louisville, Ky., hospital after suffering a stroke at his Scottsburg, Ind., home. He was 79.

A competitor for more than 30 years in the Late Model, modified street stock, open-wheel modified and enduro divisions, Trabue's Late Model success included a 1994 track title at Barren County Speedway in Glasgow, Ky., and a 1996 championship at Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, Ky. He won the 1986 modified street stock championship at Brownstown, where his racing career began in 1967.

Trabue was a Late Model feature winner at Barren County, Bluegrass, Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, Ind., and Southlake Speedway in Crown Point, Ind., among others.

Trabue and his father Roy Trabue promoted I-65 Speedway in Scottsburg in 1983-84, an original track with the Bob Memmer-founded United Midwestern Promoters organization that later evolved into the DIRTcar brand. The Trabues helped Memmer organize the 1983 meeting at a Scottsburg hotel where UMP was born.

After his racing career, Steve, like his father, became a DIRTcar official beginning in 2000, retiring from that role after the 2024 season. His father died in 2019 at the age of 94, seven months before his wife of 72 years, Barbara Trabue, Steve’s mother.

Among survivors for Trabue, who operated Steve's Body Shop for nearly 50 years, are wife Bonnie Trabue and a son, Darren. Visitation is 2-6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at Collins Funeral Home in Scottsburg followed by a 6 p.m. service. Find a complete obituary at collinsfuneralhome.net. — James Essex

Correction: Fixes age to 79, not 78; also updates with survivors and arrangements.