Mitch Calvert
For Fort Frances native Steve Arpin, it wasn’t a matter of if, but when.
The 25-year-old’s quest to join the NASCAR circuit took a giant step forward when he recently signing with Eddie Sharp Racing to drive a partial season in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2009.
His first testing session with ARCA is just a week away when he’ll hit the asphalt at Daytona International Speedway beginning Dec. 19.
“Nothing like throwing you to the wolves right off the bat, but it will be good, though,” Arpin said with a laugh, referring to the notoriety Daytona has in the racing world.
“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime and could turn into some big things for me right away,” he enthused.
Arpin will race for ESR in 12 speedway events this season, and is looking to secure sponsorship and investors in order to get himself in the other 10 ARCA events on the season schedule.
“It’s kind of been going on for the last six, eight months. Been working really hard to make a lot of contacts down in the Charlotte area,” Arpin said of his partnership with ESR.
“They had us come out and do a test for them in October, and ever since then we’ve been working hard to put the program together to bring the two sides together,” he added.
ESR is based out of the Charlotte, N.C. suburb of Denver, which is right in the thick of the NASCAR hotbed. Drivers from the ARCA program quickly have advanced to the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup series—and the prospect of Arpin someday racing in the Daytona 500 is not outside the realm of possibility.
“It’s going to be tough, but I think we’ll be fine with all the driving we’ve done this year,” Arpin noted. “Our performance over the year is what’s put us in this situation, so we’ve just got to keep on going.”
No doubt the dream is alive and well for Arpin, who first got aspirations of a racing career while driving go-karts in Rainy River at age 10. He eventually made the jump to racing Modifieds at the Emo Speedway at age 15, following his dad, Chuck, around as he prepared for races of his own.
“My dad was always into racing, and I just started following him around to races and bugging him to race myself,” Arpin recalled. “He travels with us sometimes, and you’ll never know when he might show up no matter where we are across the country, which is kind of cool.
“My whole family, from Day One, has been 100 percent behind me,” he added. “We gave up everything we had at home to try and make a go at this, so it’s been awesome having that support.”
Arpin also mentioned the support of his mom, Gayle, and stressed the success he’s had in the sport comes down to hard work day in and day out.
“Racing is just like any other sport. The more effort and devotion you put into it, the more successful you’ll be,” he reasoned. “It’s like hockey. If you go out and you practise as hard as you can and try to learn every day by playing against the best guys you can possibly play with, you’re going to get better.
“We’ve been eager to learn, taking advice on how to make the cars better, and what I can do to make myself better, and travelled around to put ourselves against the best out there,” Arpin continued.
“We struggled a bit at first, but caught on really fast, and the next thing you know we’re up at the top of the scoreboard.”
Arpin seems to be a natural no matter what he’s racing, having won a world championship snowmobile derby at age 15.
He recently nabbed the 2008 United States Auto Club Silver Crown rookie-of-the-year award and the Minnesota Modified National Championship despite this being his first season in a sprint car.
