Arpin polishing skills American-style

Steve Arpin’s stock car racing career is going south in a hurry—and he’s perfectly fine with that.
The Fort Frances driver has spent most of this racing season below the 49th parallel, making stops at various tracks on the WISSOTA circuit throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The strategy is not geared so much towards victories and points standings as it is towards making Arpin a better driver.
“By racing against so many different people, you get to learn about so many different driving styles,” said Arpin, who returned to Emo Speedway this past Saturday to win his second feature race in three outings at the track this year.
“It’s things like watching the way a driver goes into one corner. You’ll then know what to expect when you both come to the next corner. It’s all one great big learning curve.”
Arpin has made a series of top five finishes to accompany his fair share of DNF (did not finish) results. He currently sits 39th in the Modified standings of WISSOTA with 681 points in 15 appearances.
“We’ve had lots of bad luck,” admits the 19-year-old. “But I’m more comfortable racing down there this year. It’s getting to the point where I’m not just a kid anymore. On the track, the other drivers don’t feel they can intimidate me anymore.”
Arpin’s schedule to attend the U.S. tracks has been a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants adventure.
“Some weeks, it can be noon on Friday, and we’re not planning to head anywhere for the weekend,” noted Arpin. “At 1:30 p.m., we’re heading for Greenbush (Wisconsin).”
For someone who considers good handling paramount to succeeding on the track, Arpin seems destined to steer himself towards even bigger racing arenas in the future.
“We’ll start out next year taking what we’ve learned from this year, and probably head into Nebraska to do some racing,” offered Arpin.
“I’d love someday to drive NASCAR. It’s my ultimate goal, but that’s a long way down the road.”