Steve Arpin has had great success in every form of racing, from being the Modified WISSOTA 100 champ at the age of 18, to scoring three wins in the ARCA series. He is now competing against some of the best drivers in the world in the upper levels of NASCAR. Competing on the track and for a limited number of good rides. In this economy being an exceptional driver is not good enough, you need a little extra something to stand out in the crowd. Maybe his advantage will be the fabled Minnesota nice. Steve is not exactly from MN, his hometown is Fort Frances Ontario Canada, just across the border from International Falls but he is the perfect example of Minnesota nice. Arpin's personality and attitude that is hard to miss, he is great with fans and has a smile that seems impossible to fake. Just think of the exact opposite to Kurt Busch.
Steve finished one lap down in 12th place at the ARCA race in front of a real good crowd at Elko Speedway (photo above) on Saturday night June 2nd. He jumped from the car laughed and said "I have never been so busy in a car as I was tonight, the car was swearing at me the last 60 laps, I don't know where I finished but that was a blast!"
Arpin had nothing but good things to say about ARCA. "This series is like a big happy family, every driver who is here has aspirations to move to the next level, this was the first type of asphalt racing I did back in 2009," said Arpin "I have had so many opportunities and been able to live a big part of my dreams due to what I learned in ARCA."
In the last couple years Steve has raced in 14 events in either NASCAR Nationwide or Trucks scoring two "top 10" finishes and a pole in Chicago. He signed autographs at Iowa Speedway (photo below) when driving for JR motorsports.
That big opportunity has yet to emerge but Arpin is optimistic that it will happen. "We have some great things in the works," said Arpin "I know we will be racing both the dirt ARCA races this year, I think we will be down in Daytona in July and other stuff we can't talk about yet."
Arpin loves this area, lived in Rochester, and has raced many of our local dirt tracks. In fact, they plan on racing the Gopher 50 at Deer Creek on Saturday July 7th "You will never get me out of a dirt car, its way too much fun!"
I think NASCAR could use a driver with a good dose of Minnesota nice.
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