Lucas Punkari
On Friday afternoon at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Steve Arpin was, in his own words, “the happiest guy on Earth.”
The Fort Frances native had just set a new track record in qualifying for the Fast Five 225 Camping World Truck Series race later that night, motoring his way around the 1.5-mile oval in 30.768 seconds at an average speed of 175.507 m.p.h.
Although Arpin was lining up in the pole position in only his fifth Truck Series start, becoming the first Canadian since Ron Fellows in 1999 to accomplish such a feat, it didn’t take long for the #32 Mike’s Hard Lemonade Chevrolet Silverado to slide backwards in the running order.
“We just made the wrong call on the pre-race adjustments, and the truck was just super, super loose for the first half of the race,” Arpin recalled.
“We had practised and qualified during the daytime when the sun was out,” he noted. “But when the race started that night, the temperature had cooled down to about 45 degrees [Fahrenheit] and it just changed the track so much.
“During the day the truck was just incredible, and no one was really better than us except for the guys like [Kevin] Harvick and [Kyle] Busch,” Arpin added.
“But we didn’t have anything at night because the truck was just so loose.”
After a bad pitstop put the Turner Motorsports-owned machine a lap down, Arpin found himself trying to get back on the lead lap by being the “lucky dog” (which goes to the first driver one lap down).
But with the race going caution-free over the final 60 laps, Arpin was unable to get back on the lead lap and ended up finishing in 16th place.
“It was just one of those deals where we didn’t get the luck of the draw,” he reasoned.
“At the end of the race, we were running lap times that were equivalent to the leaders [including race winner Austin Dillon] but we just had to deal with the hand that we were dealt.
“I learned a lot, though, and made some good notes for when we back next year for what to do when the track changes as much as it did,” Arpin remarked.
Although the finish wasn’t what he was hoping for, the experience that came from qualifying on the pole certainly was one that Arpin will remember, including being surrounded by media members as soon as he exited his truck.
“I guess it’s not very often that someone gets a pole in one of their first five races,” he joked.
As well, Arpin got a chance to line up alongside then NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick on the front row of the starting grid as the 36-truck field came down to take the green flag for the 150-lap affair.
“That was the coolest thing in the world, except he kept on trying to screw me up and he did,” Arpin laughed.
“He kept on holding back and I was looking in my mirror going, ‘Come on, get up here alongside me,’” he recalled.
“And while it may of appeared like I got a good start, as soon as I got across the start/finish line, I knew that he was going to have the momentum built up to pass me by the time we got into turn one, and he did.
“He was pretty sharp on that one and he outfoxed me. But I promise you I won’t let it happen again the next time that I have the opportunity,” Arpin vowed.
Chicagoland was the last in a five-race stint for Arpin in the Camping World Truck Series in 2011. His best finish was 12th at the Kentucky Speedway in July, and he also led six laps in his first career start at the Texas Motor Speedway back in June.
“Overall, I think we did a lot of things great and we did a few things poorly,” Arpin admitted.
“There are some things that I wish we could have just hit the reset button on and start over again on a whole new outcome, but that’s just part of life and you just have to live and learn from it,” he reasoned.
“I’m fortunate enough, though, to have a sponsor like Mike’s Hard Lemonade behind me that is going to stand by me and work with me through these learning experiences.”
While earning the pole at Chicagoland was an obvious highlight from the season, Arpin said for him the real highlights occurred every time he sat behind the wheel.
“Every lap I was out there, I was thinking, ‘All right, I didn’t know that I could do that before’ or ‘I didn’t know the truck would do this when I did that,’” he explained.
“It’s exciting because I know that we are doing decent right now.
“But as soon as I put all of the things that I’m learning together, and it all comes naturally to me after running every week, I think everyone will be thoroughly surprised how much we turn around in our performance next year,” Arpin stressed.
While plans are still to be put in place at this point to determine what exactly Arpin will be doing in 2012, the 27-year-old will be quite busy over the next few weeks, including getting back behind a dirt car in Manor, Sask.
“Joey Galloway and the guys that he works with there are holding a big event at their private track next week, so I’ll be heading up there next week to run one off their cars,” noted Arpin, who was in Kansas City at a test session yesterday afternoon.
“After I go back home to Charlotte, I’ll be heading up to the races in New Hampshire this weekend. And then after I’m in Saskatchewan, I’ll be going to Las Vegas.
“It’s pretty much non-stop,” Arpin said.
