Steve Bren (born July 29, 1960) is a former

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racing driver from

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

Early life

Bren is the son of Diane and

Donald Bren Donald Leroy Bren (born May 11, 1932) is an American businessman. He is chairman and owner of the Irvine Company, a US real estate development corporation. With a net worth of $16.2 billion, he ranks number 112 on the 2022 Forbes Billionaires L ...

, billionaire and chairman of the US-based real estate investment company, the

Irvine Company The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more ...

. His paternal grandfather was Hollywood movie producer Milton H. Bren.

Career

After a fairly successful stint in US

Formula Super Vee Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe was ...

in 1985, Bren moved to the new

American Racing Series Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

(ARS) in 1986. While he only participated in four races, he was competitive in all his ARS starts. That year he also completed rookie orientation for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

but could not find a ride to make a qualification attempt. He made two one-off starts in the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

series in 1988 at

Laguna Seca Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

and 1990 at

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, however he failed to finish either race. Steve's brother

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also drove in Super Vee and Indy Lights. Bren later became a property developer and art collector.

Personal life

Bren has been married twice: *In 1988, he married model Thais Baker in a

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ceremony. They subsequently divorced in the 1990s. *In July 2010, he married Erica Spangler of Honolulu, Hawaii. Bren and Erica have a daughter, Bella Rose Bren born in Ketchum, Idaho. In 2017, Bren was in trouble with the law for

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...

Spangler in Idaho and also held in contempt of court for failing to appear at a civil case where he allegedly owed creditors over $5 million as part of his real estate developments. Bren said he could not pay because he was in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.Coker, Matt
Steven Michael Bren's Year has Included Jail, Rehab and a New Arrest Warrant
''OC Weekly'', July 26, 2017, Retrieved 2017-10-09

References

1960 births American people of Irish descent American people of Jewish descent Champ Car drivers Indy Lights drivers SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers Living people Sportspeople from Newport Beach, California Racing drivers from California {{US-autoracing-bio-stub