Veteran dirt track racing announcer and promoter Chris Stepan has been tapped as the new voice of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals for its 38th season of competition.
Stepan, of Las Cruces, NM, will be the new voice of the Summer Nationals Late Models and the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals heard at the track and live on DIRTVision, taking over the mic from Ruben Mireles, who spent five consecutive seasons with the Hell Tour before finding his new announcing home with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series at the beginning of the year.
“I think it’s really cool,” Stepan said. “I’ve been fortunate to announce a bunch of pretty big events in my career, but like I’ve said before, I’ve always wanted to do the Hell Tour and see what it’s about.
“I’ve seen a lot of them on DIRTVision and been to a few of them, but to be able to call the action in them I think will be really cool.”
Known across the country as one of the most exciting voices in motorsports, Stepan also brings a wide array of promotion and event management experience as founder of FYE Motorsports Promotions – celebrating 20 years in operation in 2023.
Though FYE is more commonly noted for putting on events in the upper Midwest, Stepan is no stranger to DIRTcar and its operations. Stepan served as lead announcer of both the DIRTcar Late Models and UMP Modifieds at the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in February.
It was then that Stepan began talks with DIRTcar Director Sam Driggers about a potential new role as DIRTcar Summer Nationals announcer.
“When this opportunity came up, I thought it’d be really fun to get back to my roots and announce a bunch of races,” said Stepan, who has scaled back from his announcing passion in recent years due to his obligations as Vado Speedway Park General Manager. “The Summer Nationals is a pretty prestigious thing for a lot of people. I thought it’d be fun to check out a bunch of new tracks and be able to do it.”
Stepan will add the Summer Nationals to his hefty announcing resume, highlighted by 21 years as weekly announcer at Cedar Lake Speedway, three seasons as the voice of the United States Modified Touring Series, and various high-profile events throughout the upper Midwest and Southwest.
The action begins with the first event for both tours at Peoria Speedway on Wednesday, June 14. Stepan will be on the call – live on DIRTVision.
