Mitch Calvert
After two months of online voting, Fort Frances native Steve Arpin finds himself in the running for the ARCA RE/MAX Series most popular driver award.
Arpin is second in total votes this month, and is among the top five overall along with Art Seeger, Tony Palumbo, Frank Kimmel, and Alli Owens.
Voting continues until Oct. 23, which can be done by logging on to ARCANation.com and clicking the “vote” button at the top of the driver’s page.
“It’s pretty cool,” Arpin admitted. “It just shows the support we have from the fans back home and all across the country.”
Currently, 33 different drivers have received votes.
Arpin is in Sparta, Ky. today preparing for the ARCA RE/MAX Series Drive Smart Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 tomorrow at the Kentucky Speedway.
“We went here about a week-and-a-half ago and it went really good,” Arpin enthused.
The 25-year-old, coming off an 11th-place finish ARCA RE/MAX 250 two weeks ago at Talladega, currently is ninth on the ARCA points list with 600.
Parker Kilgerman leads the way with 815.
“It was an interesting race at Talledega, started 18th and got up into the top 10 and then made a pit stop, found we had a tire rubbing the front right fender, so we had to come back in and roll that fender up, so we fell back to 21st,” Arpin recalled.
“Then worked it back up to 11th or 12th and then just snuck by that big wreck at the end, but just scraped the wall going by and knocked the fender back down on the front right tire.
“So it kind of killed us for those last four or five laps.”
It’s been an up and down season for Arpin in his first year on the ARCA circuit as he adjusts to a higher level of competition.
“There’s a lot of crap that goes on in these races, and it’s more of an endurance run,” Arpin remarked.
“You’ve got to stay up on your toes, and these cars are so big and so heavy, so when you try to change directions amidst these wrecks, they don’t just turn or stop on a dime.
“It’s a learning experience, but we’re getting better each and every week, so it should be a good deal this weekend [in Kentucky],” Arpin added.
In related news, a bus trip is being organized here by Brenda Kellar to head down to Newton, Iowa for the Prairie Meadows 200 on July 10-11.
“It’s a Friday and Saturday deal, and I understand there’s room for 45 people on the bus,” Arpin noted.
“My wife [Katrina] and I are going to get the team and go for breakfast with everyone Saturday morning, and we’re trying to get some garage tours lined up but that’s not carved in stone just yet.”
For more information on the bus trip, contact Kellar at 274-1206.
