Early Life
Steve was born to parents Bruce and Sharon Butler and has three sisters Linda, Laura, and Melanie. Due to Bruce’s career as an USAF pilot, the family lived in England for four years shortly after Steve’s birth. Bruce loved all things mechanical—especially those that involve speed. He repaired and modified cars in his free-time and also owned a go-kart that he would drive on remote parts of the British aircraft parking ramps, often allowing young Steve to ride in his lap.
Shortly after the family returned from England, Bruce was killed in an airplane crash. At the time, Steve was six years old but had already caught his father’s enthusiasm for cars and airplanes. Steve set out to learn as much as possible about these mechanical wonders without benefit of his father’s tutelage. By age 14, he had disassembled and rebuilt the family car and became known as the neighborhood “motor-head.”
By age 20, Steve was a full-time student in the Flight Technology school at Vincennes University. Planning to become a pilot, he had earned his Commercial Pilot License and had distinguished himself by winning the school’s “Top Aerobatic Pilot” award. However, he left school early to launch his professional motorcycle racing career. He was anxious to get serious about racing and was concerned that he was already 4 years older than most of his professional motorcycle racing peers.
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“No two men see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will apply in different ways a principle that they both acknowledge. The same man will, indeed, often see and judge the same things differently on different occasions: early convictions must give way to more mature ones. Nevertheless, may not the opinions that a man holds and expresses withstand all trials, if he only remains true to himself and others?”
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