With the right mindset and the right car, he was set for a breakout year. It began at the Copper World Classic on the one-mile paved oval in Phoenix.
“I was on the frontstretch at the Copper and Irish Saunders from Hoosier Tire was there,” Stevie recalled. “And I asked him when he was going to buy me one of those cool Hoosier driver‘s suits like everybody had. He said, ‘If you win this race, I‘ll buy you one.‘ I told him to order it. Reeves shocked everyone by winning and Saunders held up his end of the bargain.
It didn‘t stop there.
One thing that developed quickly was chemistry with Greg Wilke. He recalled an early trip to Winchester Speedway which resulted in a credible finish, but Greg watched closely and felt the team could do more to help their driver.
Recalling the moment, Reeves said, “I came in and he said, ‘I‘m sorry. You drove your heart out. I have some ideas to fix this thing.‘”
When they came back to the imposing half-mile track in mid-May, it was a different story.
“I lapped up to about sixth place,” Stevie said. “I had never had a car that was that good.”
Not only did the team keep winning, they also bagged important events, including the Pepsi Nationals at Wisconsin‘s Angel Park Speedway, the Race of Champions at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the opening night at the Belleville Midget Nationals, and Reeves went toe-to-toe with Stan Fox at the Hut Hundred at the Terre Haute Action Track and won.
In the third week of October, Stevie scored again at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Thus, by the time USAC prepared to head west and bring the 1991 season to a close, he sat atop the standings.
Everything, it appeared, was coming up roses. Then Reeves learned that his team had decided to forgo the western swing. Now he was thrashing again.
It wasn‘t uncharted territory as he had already patched some rides together over the course of the year. Over the summer he drove again for John Black, and longtime owner Eddie Griffith also came to the rescue. Even with this, he had missed out on some dates while multi-talented Mike Streicher was showing up night after night.
The triumph at Lakeside had finally vaulted Reeves to the top spot, and with four races left in California he held a 17-point lead. Finding work with Gary and George Zarounian, he held serve over the next two races, and things looked up when he accepted a ride with Steve Lewis at the Turkey Night Grand Prix held that year at Saugus.
When he passed Stan Fox he felt confident that another big race was going to fall into his column, and then he fell to a mechanical failure. Heading into the finale at El Centro, his lead was down to four markers. What went down was one of the most amazing tales in USAC history.
Back with the Zarounians, Reeves was taking his car through its paces in practice when Keith Rauch hit the wall in front of him.
The contact that ensued put his car on the shelf. Then, in a fine gesture, Randy Roberts offered a seat in Harry Conklin‘s powerful car and all looked good again.
In position to qualify via his heat race, Stevie powered to the checkered flag only to have the engine expire at that point. Finally, Jimmy Sills, who was racing for Dave Calderwood, also lent a hand. The car was already qualified, but if Reeves wanted to give it a go he could start from the rear.
Recalling the moment, Stevie said , “They dropped the green and I was coming through the field like hell. This thing was on the cushion and it was unbelievable. I was about four cars behind Mike, I got in the corner and the right rear wheel broke and I got upside down. That ended it.”
But it didn‘t end there. Returning to the hotel, he dutifully called his wife Melissa to report on the outcome. Things weren‘t a whole lot better on her end. She was forced to reveal that her husband‘s pet parrot had died, and that one of his best friends had seriously injured himself in a self-inflicted gun wound.
Understandably, Reeves calls that, “The worst day of my life.”
There is always a new season, and there was much to look forward to. Not only did Stevie nearly win the 1991 National midget championship, but he also carried a brand new Wilke Silver Crown car to a win at DuQuoin, Ill. However, things unraveled quickly.
The Wilke team had switched chassis builders and Reeves could not find speed at the Copper World Classic. When he heard the builder suggest that perhaps the driver wasn‘t cutting it, everything boiled over.
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