A regular on the Knightworks Design OSCAAR Hot Rod tour, Steve Book put together a solid campaign en route to placing second in the year-end standings.

“This season was a challenging one,” he told SHORT TRACK MUSINGS. “We had some good runs but couldn’t quite find the combination to get to victory lane. Overall it was pretty good season and I hope to get back to being a threat to win in 2024.”

Although he was able to score seven feature top-five’s alongside a pair of heat victories, his most memorable moment for the year doesn’t have to do with himself, but rather the medical emergency with one of his fellow competitors at Delaware Speedway.

“It really impacted many of the people in our racing family and thankfully turned into something special with his return to racing,” Book reflected. “It reaffirms how close the racing community is.”

Book will return to the tour once again in 2024, hopeful of chasing another series championship to add to his list of accomplishments. It’s why there’s an off-season focus “some repairs to some lingering issues on the chassis” will hopefully allow him and the car to be more consistent in 2024. He also added that he hopes the merger between OSCAAR and United Racing Series “tightens up the tech,” and keeps “the rule changes to a minimum which will keep the costs at a reasonable rate.”

“I believe the hot rod division has been the best racing around with multiple teams that can win on any given race,” he commented. “The cars aren’t all cookie cutter bodies making the series the coolest around. It has also been an affordable series so far and I hope they keep it that way.”

Book’s contributions to the series go beyond just a driver hismelf, as the Book Racing team fielded a pair of entries on several occasions throughout the 2023 campaign. This allowed several drivers to get a chance to battle with the tour, including J.R. Fitzpatrick and Steve’s father Ralph Book.

“We have had champions, friends, fellow competitors and family driving it,” Book explained. “The car is there to provide a fun experience for whoever gets in it with no pressure or worries. As for future drivers I have a list of people that I would like to see get in and have fun. I would like to give Lane Zardo a chance again because my car broke on the night that he was going to drive it and he was gracious enough to let me take it back because I was in the points for the season. There are some others that I will approach as well.”

With the experience he has gained himself over the years, the advice to those interested in getting involved in the series is “stay within a reasonable budget, as to stay in a place where racing can be fun.”