ARCA: Canadian Steve Arpin ready for dirt action on Springfield mile

CHARLOTTE, N.C.   (August 11, 2009)  Next week Steve Arpin will head back to familiar territory when the ARCA RE/MAX Series makes its annual return to the historic Springfield Mile on the Illinois State Fairgrounds for the running of the Allen Crowe 100. It's not that Arpin has ever competed at the one mile oval in his career, but the unique event will see him back on a dirt racing surface as the talented driver of the Venturini Motorsports entry guns for his first ever ARCA win.

Arpin, a former multi-time champion of dirt modified action, is looking forward to a return to non-asphalt competition even though his rookie season on the ARCA tour has produced very impressive results. In his most recent run in the Pennsylvania 200, Arpin drove the Pinewood Sports / SpeedShop sponsored Venturini Toyota Camry to a fourth place finish at Pocono Raceway. Entering the Sunday August 23rd event Arpin continues to be ranked inside the top-ten of the national title chase at seventh place of the standings on the series and considers it an honor to be able to contend for a win in such a special event.

'The race at the Springfield Mile has a very rich racing history,' Arpin points out. 'When you look back over the past half-century and consider the names of the great racers who have won there it is mind boggling. It would be very special for me to earn my first ARCA win in an event that has been won by such hall of famers as A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Ken Schrader and Curtis Turner, and that's just the tip of the iceberg,' exclaimed Arpin.  'I know a lot of our friends and fans from the dirt racing side of the business will be rooting us on so we don't want to let them down and are going to give it our best shot,' added Arpin. 'To win this upcoming race at Springfield would have an added special meaning with me coming from the ranks of dirt racing.

Arpin is right, as this year's 47th running of the Allen Crowe 100 memorial event represents not only the turning point down the stretch in the ARCA Series championship drive, but it is also significant of two very special stops on the circuit's annual schedule, with yet another dirt track event coming up at DuQuoin, Illinois on Labor Day (Sep 7th). One of the other key ingredients to the Springfield event is that fact that Arpin will have to go head to head against one of the most successful racers to have ever competed at Springfield, that being the 9-time ARCA Champion Frank Kimmel.

'It's been great racing with Frank as one of the competitors that I have to try and beat each ARCA race, but he's won this race seven times in the past,' Arpin continued. 'That is a very impressive mark and if I am able to get my first ARCA win going up against Frank and Kenny Schrader it will really make it even more of a special day.'

The mile dirt track within the Illinois State Fairgrounds is in its 75th year of hosting auto racing and has seen many other greats in the sport pull into the track's victory lane in ARCA action, including Ramo Stott, Bobby Issac, Jack Bowser, Bob Keselowski, Roger McCluskey and Tim Steele, to name a few.  This season marks Arpin’s first full year of asphalt racing experience after several stellar seasons on dirt in which the young Canadian talent became a dominant force and earned numerous titles while racking up wins in his open wheel modified against the strongest competition in North America. Last season Arpin claimed the USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year award and with his strong runs this season the native of Fort Frances, Ontario has attracted a lot of attention from some of the industry's leaders. Prior to moving into auto racing Arpin earned 7 world championships in snowmobile competition as lead pilot for Team Polaris. Arpin would go on to score his first Open Wheel Modified championship at the age of 15 and has since moved on to his current successes in stock cars on superspeedways and short tracks across the nation.

'Our first outing with Billy Venturini and the team at Pocono produced solid results and I am confident that my prior experience on dirt will help me at Springfield and then later on at DuQuoin,' says Arpin enthusiastically. 'It's a neat thing that the ARCA series still races at some of the old grass roots tracks and we need to use those events to help us move up in the standings and hopefully grab a win or two. The entire Venturini team has high expectations for the rest of the season and I am here to drive their car to the winner's circle,' continued Arpin. 'They are just a pleasure to work with and have given me top-notch equipment with great communication between Billy, myself and the rest of the team. I just appreciate the opportunity,' Arpin concluded.

Now driving for Venturini Motorsports with backing from Pinewood Sports & Marine, Taylor Motorsports, SpeedShop and Lo-N-Bro Enterprises Arpin has gained ground on the points battle and closed in on a top-five ranking on the tour. The event at Springfield gets underway with an early Sunday morning practice session at 9:00 am on August 23rd followed by time-trial qualifications at 11:00 am. The green flag is set to wave on the Allen Crowe 100 just after 1:00 pm at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on August 23rd. All of the ARCA RE/MAX Series action will be aired live via the ARCA Racing Network located at www.arcaracing.com. The special stock car event is promoted by Track Enterprises and long-time successful race promoter Bob Sargent. Ticket and event information may be obtained by visiting the group's web site at www.trackenterprises.com.

To learn more about Steve Arpin and to become involved with the team's efforts for the balance of the 2009 season, visit www.stevearpin.net. Souvenir racing apparel is available online from the Steve Arpin Racing web site.

From ARCA