Steve deSouza enters his 11th season as Vice President of Nationwide Series Operations at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) following the organization’s finest season which saw it establish new records and capture its first owner’s championship.
Indeed 2008 was a dominant season for JGR’s two-team Nationwide Series contingent, with their No. 20 Toyota claiming the organization’s first NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship. But even as consistent as the No. 20 car proved to be throughout the season, the No. 18 team was equally as impressive despite running only a 23-race schedule. Combined the two cars would win a record setting 19 Nationwide races, capture a combined nine poles, an amazing 32 top-five finishes and 44 top-10 finishes. JGR’s dominating performance also helped Toyota clinch their first Nationwide Series manufacturer’s championship.
Building off that success will be challenging, but deSouza has been working hard in preparation for 2009, and he is no stranger to success having established himself as one of the world’s best known names in powerboat racing following a 30-year career in the sport piloting outboard F-1 tunnel boats. Over his career he held six national championships, nine regional titles, two world speed records, was a member of the 1986 International Outboard Grand Prix World Championship Team, and twice was nominated to the American Powerboat Association Hall of Champions. He also completed one season victorious in 30 of 32 events.
The Seattle native not only built successful racing programs but was involved in business ventures that assisted in funding those racing programs. Among them a niche office equipment business that was taken out of bankruptcy and grew to became the largest independent mail and shipping room equipment vendor in the state of Washington.
Those early business ventures would provide invaluable experience for deSouza in his current role. As would his experience in building sponsorship programs to support his racing. After two years of pitching sponsorship proposals, Interstate Batteries agreed to sponsor deSouza’s F-1 team thanks, ultimately, to deSouza’s ability to help Interstate land a huge marine account. That was the beginning of a great relationship that continues today. That relationship also introduced deSouza to the Gibbs family after Interstate Batteries made the decision to sponsor JGR’s first Sprint Cup Series team. From that point, the relationship with the Gibbs and others at JGR took a course of its own, growing into personal friendships over the next several years.
Then in 1994, when his younger sister was in need of a kidney donor, deSouza’s world changed. He didn’t hesitate to donate one of his own kidneys, even at the expense of his career as a powerboat racer. Advised by doctors to leave the cockpit for good, deSouza moved forward at an equally aggressive and successful pace in the business arena.
A new opportunity arose when he accepted the challenge of developing a Nationwide Series race team for Bill Amick’s son Lyndon, who was moving up from the NASCAR Dash Series. deSouza’s first action was to pay a visit to his friends at JGR to learn as much about NASCAR as he could.
deSouza would join JGR a few years later following a stint at then Progressive Motorsports. JGR had taken over Bobby Labonte’s Nationwide Series team and had made the decision to expand, tabbing deSouza with the task of growing the program. That didn’t take long as deSouza’s neighbor and friend, Gary Bechtel, called in hopes of speaking with him about managing his race team – Diamond Ridge Motorsports. With deSouza already committed to JGR, Bechtel instead asked for help to explore other options. Just a few weeks later JGR struck a deal to acquire Diamond Ridge Motorsports and became a multi-car team in the Nationwide Series.
deSouza lives in Concord, NC with his wife Missy, who works in the racing community with Motor Racing Outreach. They have a daughter Maggie, and a son, Clem.
