While balancing having family and running the Ohio Valley Legend Car Series, Steven Partin wants to accomplish a goal he set at twelve years old, the dirt national championship. The dirt track racer enjoys spending weekends at the track and has deep ties in the dirt racing community.

Hometown: Peebles, Ohio

Team: Hidden Gem Motorsports

Division: Legend Car Pro

Number: 21

Favorite Track: Atomic Speedway

1. How did you get your start in racing?

I started racing go-karts when I was eight. At 12 years old I moved into racing Legend Cars and have been racing them ever since.

2. How did you get your number?

I wasn’t really tied to any number at first, I was bouncing around numbers. My graphic designer came to a race and told me to pick a number and stick with it. He said there are people who are following you and can’t keep track of what car you’re in. I was driving the number 21 at the time, so I stuck with it. I don’t have an emotional tie to the number but it’s what I’ve stuck with.

3. Who is your biggest inspiration?

I would say Joe Ryan. He’s treated me like a brother since we have gotten to know each other over the last six years. What he knows about Legend Cars and racing, He’s helped me a ton in racing and life in general. He’s been one of my best friends and I couldn’t imagine life without Joe Ryan being a friend.

4. What is your favorite racing memory?

It wouldn’t be any wins, but I have the most fun racing with Glenn Mitchell. He treats me like family, and we just have fun at the races and enjoy the weekend. It doesn’t necessarily matter what happens on the track, it’s just his family and my family we spend the weekend together enjoying the races and those are the best memories.

5. What drew you to racing dirt tracks?

It’s all we had around here. My dad built a dirt track here in 2001 and so I grew up around dirt track racing. We owned the dirt track for 24 years, we were there every day doing dirt work and prepping the track, so it was natural to run on dirt. Having the connection to the dirt helped me understand how the racetracks change and how to adjust your car going forward. It’s where you grew up and its stuck around. I’ve run asphalt and the ovals, but dirt is home.

6. We saw you competing at Winter Heat; as someone who primarily races dirt races, how did you have to adjust for the ROVAL?

It was a lot of fun, and I recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about trying it. I knew I wasn’t going to be out there going for a win, but the experience to go out on the banks at that speed was great. I ran the same legend car I run for dirt out there so the versatility of Legend Cars is a big selling point. Joe Ryan helped me out with prepping for the track and the car work. If the ROVAL keeps coming back, I will definitely keep doing it.

7. You run the Ohio Valley Legend Car Series, why should someone local run the series, and how has your experience as a driver helped you to run the series?

We have been running since 2012 and are back for 2026. It’s a good series, when you get outside of the Charlotte area, there are a lot of hobby racers, it’s what we are doing to blow off steam from our other jobs. We pride ourselves on putting together clean racing where guys can come and have fun and not spend too much money over a weekend. As far as being a driver helping promote the series, it helps me see through the eyes of everyone. I have the experience promoting through my family’s racetrack we used to own, and I’ve got the drivers eyes trying to make things as even and fair for everything. I feel those experiences help me do the best job possible.

8. How do you measure success while racing?

It’s changed over the years. I’m still going for my first national championship, and it used to be if I didn’t win or wasn’t competitive then I would be upset. But as I’ve gotten a little older and built my friends around racing it all comes back to if we can be competitive and we have fun doing it. The more I get older I have started to quantify that as success.

9. What is your favorite track?

Atomic Speedway is definitely my favorite track. The high banks and speed, mixed with the history of the facility all makes it a super fun track.

10. What are your racing goals for 2026?

I would love to win a national championship in the Pro class and win the dirt nationals feature. That would be icing on the cake. I started this goal at 12 years old so this would be a 12-year-old boy’s dream. I’ve got my other businesses, so this is a far as my racing career will go, so I’ve put a lot of weight and stock into hopefully one day winning one of those.

11. If you could race at any track in the world?

I would have to say being a dirt guy, Eldora Speedway. I know it’s a little bigger than we typically allowed to run. When we go to Eldora to watch people can do track walks, but I say that I’m not going to touch that dirt unless I’m behind the wheel of a car.

12. What's the biggest lesson that racing has taught you in life?

Dealing with the different characters and attitudes involved. Everyone has their own opinions, and you learn how to handle them even if people disagree with you. Dealing with people in general helps in life. I can’t believe how many times in business that I’ve said here is how we do things in racing.

13. What are some of your hobbies outside of racing?

My girlfriend Sarah would say there is not much, because we spend a lot of time around racing. I do really enjoy going to Cincinnati Bengals games. We have season tickets for that and we enjoy the NFL. In the wintertime, I try to set several months aside to spend time with my family because they sacrifice a lot. When we are not racing, I try to spend as much time as possible with Sarah and my kids and just enjoy our time.