Lucas Punkari
While he can’t officially reveal too much information, Fort Frances native Steve Arpin is aching to tell everyone about his future racing plans in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series.
“I pretty much have to sew my lips shut because I just want to blab it out so bad,” Arpin said from his race shop in North Carolina.
“I’m just so excited about it because it’s such a great opportunity, and I want to talk about it in the absolute worst way.
“But we need to make sure that we have all of our ducks in a row before going out to the public with it,” he explained.
What Arpin could say about his new ride is that it would be one of NASCAR’s three national touring series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series) and that Mike’s Hard Lemonade would be coming back on board as a sponsor.
“That’s what we’re most excited about,” Arpin enthused, referring to having Mike’s Hard returning to show their support.
“It’s so cool to have a relationship with a company like that which is willing to use me to help represent their brand and to have them also support our efforts, so we’re really excited about that.”
While Arpin hasn’t been on the track since racing in the ARCA season-opener at Daytona in February, he has been spending a lot of time in the boardroom in meetings to get everything finalized for his new deal.
“The biggest thing about racing at this level is that each sponsor is using this as a really substantial marketing platform for their brand,” Arpin explained.
“And in order to do that, and to do it right, there is so much preparation that is put into these programs behind the scenes before we get to go out and do the fun stuff.”
In between boardroom meetings, Arpin also has been at the track during race weekends. While he may not have a ride, he’s used the opportunity to stay in touch with people in the garage and also take in the action.
“If I was just sitting at home on the couch and watching the race, it wouldn’t be as productive as it would be if I was at the track,” he reasoned.
“By being there, I’m able to build so many relationships in the garage at all three levels, and I’m able to walk into the team trailer and get a team radio so I can listen to the feedback and changes the drivers are making, which is keeping me fresh without being in the race car.”
While not actually driving is a bit frustrating for Arpin, he does realize how important it is to have everything right before getting back behind the wheel again.
“It’s tough going to the track every week and just be sitting and watching,” he admitted.
“It’s one of those deals, though, that all good things come in time and I just have to keep on convincing myself of that.
“I can’t get too selfish for myself saying, ‘God, I want to be in that car right now,’ when I know the importance of doing this thing right,” he stressed.
“This is a first for me, as well, because I haven’t done something at this level or magnitude before,” Arpin remarked. “It just blows your mind the amount of effort, people, organizing, and planning to get these things up and running.
“And as much as I want to be in the car, I’m having the time of my life learning the business and marketing side of things.”
No date has been set yet for an official announcement, but Arpin expects it to happen in the next few weeks.
“From the sounds of things, it sounds like the big announcement will be made at one of the tracks,” he said.
“The biggest thing that we’re going through right now is trying to put together a lot programs that would really get the fans involved, so we’re going through all of the legalities and the details in regards to that.”
Arpin did note his deal would not see him return to JR Motorsports, who he ran seven races for in the Nationwide Series a season ago, where he had a top 10 result in last July’s race at Daytona.
“They just needed someone to be in Danica [Patrick’s] car for those events and it was great to have that opportunity,” Arpin noted.
“Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. and his sister, Kelley, are just real down-to-earth people, and they saw the amount of effort I was putting in and how hard I was working to give me that opportunity.
“Even though I’m not racing for them at this point, we still have a really great relationship,” he stressed.
Last month, Arpin made a one-off appearance for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA series-opener at Daytona, where he started in third position but was involved in a multi-car pileup in the race’s late stages to end up with a 32nd-place result.
“That was a last-minute deal as I had originally went down to test and help out with Venturini Motorsports, but we had some people step up to give us some support,” he recalled.
“And if you don’t run at Daytona, people sometimes think that you’re not going to be racing that year.
“The race itself was just frustrating and I can imagine people watching at home felt the same way,” Arpin acknowledged.
“It was one of those deals where there were a lot of rookies in the race, and I think ARCA will have to make a couple of steps in order [to slow] the cars down on the new surface there because everything happens really fast and that limits us drivers to what we can do with the side-by-side racing.”
Having won three races on the ARCA circuit last season, Arpin feels that run of success has been a huge help in getting his name out there to many of the top owners in the series, along with many other drivers.
“It’s huge,” Arpin said. “In my situation, for example, I never had asphalt experience until I ran at Daytona for the first time [in 2009].
“[ARCA] is such a good stepping stone for younger drivers to make [it] into the top three levels of NASCAR and it helps get our names out there to the fans, along with the team owners like Jack Roush and Rick Hendrick, which helps to open up a lot of opportunities,” he explained.
Arpin also has received accolades from his home country of late, as well, as he was voted the Canadian racer competing at the highest level of international competition in the Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards, which he received at the Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto in late January.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know I was nominated for it,” Arpin said.
“It’s pretty incredible to win an award like that, and it’s just phenomenal to have my country supporting me as I’m venturing down here and racing.
“I get e-mails every day from people back in Canada offering their support, congratulations, and of how proud they are, and that’s honestly the coolest thing in the world,” he enthused.
