Mitch Calvert
Fort Frances native Steve Arpin’s struggles on the ARCA RE/MAX Series seem to be a thing of the past.
After claiming just one top 10 finish (10th at Rockingham back in April) in his first seven races on the circuit, Arpin has strung together back-to-back ones, including a fifth-place showing Saturday in the Tim Richmond Memorial at Mansfield Motorsports Park.
“It’s going to keep on getting better every week,” Arpin enthused.
The 25-year-old even led for 14 laps just before the midway point of the race.
“We got on a different pit strategy than everyone else, so that’s why we lost so many positions when we did pit,” Arpin explained.
“But it was really good for us because it got us on fresher tires towards the end of the race.”
The strategy looked to be paying off as Arpin and his No. 20 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota clocked lap times half-a-second faster than the leaders with 25 laps to go.
But the car faltered over the last 15 laps and forced the former Emo Speedway driver to work hard just to maintain fifth spot.
“We really gave ’er and pushed the car for everything it had, but it just gave up with 15 [laps] to go,” Arpin lamented. “We were slipping and sliding all over the place.
“Initially, we thought we had just used up the tires but later we find out that the frame in the front of the car had broke, so it was flapping all over the place for the last 15 laps there,” Arpin added.
“We just lost all grip with the race track because of that,” he noted. “It was a handful at the end, got really loose there, and it took a lot not to spin out.
“The issues we had had nothing to do with the crew, it’s just one of those racing deals,” Arpin said of the faulty frame. “We just need to go back and do a little redesigning with the frame and strengthen it up for next time.”
Arpin said the car was great the entire weekend, and pointed to his revamped crew as a big reason for their recent spell of success.
“We had a real strong car right when we unloaded for practice,” he remarked. “We had a good qualifying run and qualified seventh, and we were only a half-a-car length away from first place, so that’s how close the top seven were.
“The whole crew did a great job getting the car ready,” he enthused.
Arpin said it was nice to get some time on the track prior to the race, especially since the last four ARCA qualifying sessions had been rained out.
“It’s amazing what a difference it makes,” he said. “It’s tough going to all these places and never seeing them before, and then having practice and qualifying rained out.
“It was nice to get some laps in beforehand and get a feel for the track and everything,” he explained.
Arpin noted the track was another challenging one—exemplified by the 12 drivers who had to retire early due to car problems or collisions.
“It was a really tough track, both ends were completely different as far as how you had to drive them,” he noted. “It was a really busy track from a driving standpoint.
“We were door-to-door and nose-to-tail the entire race.”
Patrick Kligerman took the checkered flag to maintain his points lead with 2,115 to date. He’s followed by Justin Lofton (2,060) and Frank Kimmel (1,885).
Arpin, meanwhile, moved into seventh place overall with 1,640 points through nine events.
The next event on the ARCA circuit takes place July 11 at the Prairie Meadows 200 from the Iowa Speedway—but Arpin has some family business to take care of before then.
“My brother [Chuck Jr.] is getting married on Saturday, so I’ll be coming back to Fort Frances this week,” he said. “Then on Sunday we take off to Iowa to go testing.
“Then we’re going to race our dirt modifieds for a weekend in Alexandria, Mn. for the Minnesota Modified Nationals in a race that I won last year,” he added.
In related news, the bus being organized by Brenda Kellar to head down to Newton, Iowa to watch Arpin is no longer a go.
Kellar said she couldn’t get enough people to commit in time.
