The Drive to Drive

Posted on 4/3/2010

Fort Frances racer featured in ARCA series heading toward NASCAR Nationwide

Many youngsters dream of becoming a race car driver. But Fort Frances’ Steven Arpin, 26, put the wheels in motion and made his dream come true.

Arpin, owner of Arpin Enterprises, has come through the ranks of racing. He started at age 10 in go-karts, won regional and national snowmobile ice oval races in high school, was named modified track champion on dirt tracks, and now races in the ARCA/REMAX series, with plans to compete in three NASCAR Nationwide series races this year and going full time in the series in 2011.

The modest racer credits his success to the support of his family and friends and his drive to do the best he can in all that he does.

Arpin spoke by telephone to The Journal from his Charlotte, N.C., workshop in March, fresh from taking fifth place Feb. 27 at the Palm Beach International Raceway.

He’s now preparing for the April 11 Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 race at Salem Speedway.

Living a dream

“I am living a dream,” he said. “If someone asked me what I would change in my life, honestly, I don’t think I could come up with anything to change.

“It takes hard work, with the economy the way it is. The sport is really sponsor driven, so funding is always the serious issue you’re up against, but when all is said and done, if it was handed to you, you don’t appreciate it as much as if you work your butt off your whole life.

“If my parents were wealthy and had the big check to write, I don’t think I’d want to do it that way.”

Arpin has racing in his blood. His parents, Chuck and Gayle Arpin, have owned and operated Pinewood Sports, just west of Fort Frances, for more than 37 years.

Steve watched from the pits starting as a toddler as his father raced modified cars.

Chuck says the younger Arpin has always been competitive. Even as a youngster, older brother Chuck Jr. was OK with letting Steve win in family competitions with boats, snowmobiles and vehicles.

“He had the drive and determination from as long as we can remember, even when he was in diapers, almost,” said Chuck of Steve. “Losing or second place wasn’t in his vocabulary.”

Steve recalls he and his father returning from a go-kart race in which he placed third or fourth when Steve was about 10.

“I was leading and messed up a bunch of times,” Steve said. “Going home, I was in the back seat of the pickup, the go-kart in the box of the truck. I think we were coming back from Rainy River, I sat in dad’s ear the whole way home, probably 45 minutes, and I begged, all I want to do for the rest of my life was race and race.”

Chuck says as a father and business man, he’s suggested that Steve have a “Plan B and C” just in case his career doesn’t pan out.

“He won’t consider it,” says Chuck, “because he considers that failure.”

As for his father’s suggestion: “I argued, and yelled, ‘no way it isn’t going to work out. That’s all there is to it,’” said Steve.

Steve says he understands now how important the lessons he learned from his parents are in his life.

“I wouldn’t be here now, or even close to where I am at, without my parents,” Steve said. “Like everything I tried to do, in racing they’ve been behind me 110 percent. They made me learn the hard way a whole bunch of times, and now I appreciate it.”

Chuck says that everything his sons have had, “contrary to popular belief, they’ve worked hard for it. Absolutely nothing was handed to these kids on a silver platter. The only thing we expected out of our kids was 100 percent of what they were capable of. We didn’t accept anything less.”

Steve said he faced some tough choices along the way. Early on, he had to choose whether to continue to play football in high school or commit to racing.

“I had to make a choice,” he said. “It was tough, you’re on the road so much, you go all week hearing your friends talk about what they’re going to do on the weekend. ‘There’s a party here, we’re going to go there’. I was going to Cedar Lake, Duluth, or Minneapolis (race tracks). It was tough, but it’s definitely been worth it.”

Chuck credits wife Gayle with keeping their sons genuine.

“We always wanted them to be humble, and they really are,” she said. “It was important to us to instill a good, strong work ethic.”

Steve said his father and he “used to fight like cats and dogs, I would get so mad he was so hard on me. I would cry to mom when I was a kid: ‘He’s so mean.’ And dad always told me, ‘You will thank me some day.” I was grinding my teeth. No way was I going to thank you for that. It’s honestly what’s got us to this point — the lessons learned, and the hard work, the determination, the business side of things.”

Big business

Racing is big business down south, where the Canadian has learned to eat his hamburgers “with all the fixin's.” That southern reference caused his mother to urge him to come home.

“I am losing a little of the Canadian accent, but when I get around a bunch of Canadians, they make fun of me because it comes back to me so fast,” he said.

Many race fans may be surprised to know that much of Arpin’s time is not spent on the race track. Instead, drivers are involved in meetings with sponsors, promotions and a variety of other things that help move the sport forward.

“The higher you move up in motor sports, the more business oriented it gets,” explained Arpin. “The sport is driven by sponsors. We have to, especially in today’s times, service sponsors the best we can and do all we can to get them a good return on their investment.”

With each sponsorship comes money and a name on the car, but also an activation plan, which includes promotional appearances, school visits, programs and other activities intended to get the name of the driver and sponsor into the public view.

“Racing is where you get to let loose and have fun — all week long you’re at the shop, you’re talking business,” he said.

The challenge

Arpin said going 200 miles per hour on asphalt took some getting used to. “But after a while, it feels like driving down the highway at 60,” he said. “The biggest thing I love is the challenge. It’s a new challenge 10 different times throughout a race. You’re dealt a different hand every 25 laps — something changes. There’s a new challenge from your ability and from a mental standpoint. You make the best of the situation you put yourself in. It’s the ultimate rush — speed, going 200 mph and touching fenders with the car next to you. Wow.”

Does a wife worry about a husband who earns a living traveling 200 miles per hour in a car?

“I don’t worry about him, I get worried about other drivers — they make me nervous,” said Trina.

Driving that fast for that long among other cars is very physical. Arpin starts each day by working out at a gym. “You have to be in the best shape you can for 200-300 miles,” he said. “In NASCAR, races are 400-600 miles. It’s so physically demanding it’s ridiculous. Being in good shape is a key aspect and something you can do as a driver.”

So what’s a race car driver do for fun?

“At this point, racing is as much fun as I can possibly dream of having,” he said. “It’s a full time job.

“Now, times are tough. In this economy, it’s harder to get to the next level. You have to have 110 percent focus each day, all day long at putting yourself in position to get that opportunity.”

Trina sometimes gets frustrated with her husband’s schedule, he said. “She wants to go and do stuff and have fun, but with every break you take someone else gets that much ahead of you.”

Trina travels with Steve as much as her full-time bank job in Charlotte allows, he said.

Trina is familiar with the racing grind. She grew up around a race track near Rochester, where friends often raced. Steve says the couple first met there while she was handing out fliers for another track.

“We actually met at Deer Creek in Spring Valley, Minn. — the same place he proposed,” she said.

Steve asked Trina to marry him in victory lane. “He had the ring taped underneath the seat the whole race,” she said. “He said he did it in front of 3,000 people so I couldn’t say no.”

Making connections

Trina, a former professional bow hunter, said Steve is the same guy he was before he started to run with the big boys of racing, including NASCAR racers Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Arpin has been mentored by the successful drivers, driving cars for Edwards, and hopefully for Earnhardt. He took Rookie of the Year honors in the No. 35 Carl Edwards/Re Technologies car during the 2008 season.

“It’s really cool,” he said of his connections with the NASCAR racers. “You work your butt off and do everything the best you can, and you’re put in the position to get that opportunity. The past 10-15 years put us there.”

A highlight of Arpin’s career is meeting the kids at school programs and the track.

“I remember when I was a kid going to races with dad,” he said. “I loved running around, getting hero cards and driver autographs, I idolized the racers. I always remember the drivers that paid attention to me or would give me the time of day, talk to me, or even play with me. You know the ‘make a note to yourself?’ The kids just get so pumped up when you pay attention to them. You don’t even have to go out of your way, just give them the time of day.”

He was voted by fans the most popular driver of 2009 in the ARCA series, likely because of his sincerity and down-to-earth personality.

“The biggest thing is being real. Not thinking you’re one step ahead of anyone,” he said. “The fans are why we have the opportunity to do what we do. We’re performers to put on a show. Without them, we wouldn’t be here. If more drivers felt that way, the sport would be in a better state.”

Disappointments

Arpin has experienced some disappointments along the way.

“There are always disappointments, but just know what you love. Know what you want to do and learn from them,” he said. “You do get down on yourself and think ‘What hell am I doing? When will it get better?’ But you keep on going. The biggest thing is determination. You are going to have bad times, that’s part of racing. But you get it through your head and accept it and it will make you a better driver.”

Arpin was injured in 2008 when a radiator hose blew off his car, spraying him with boiling water. He was severely burned on his hands, thighs, and groin and unable to race for two months.

“It drove me nuts — two months on the couch, before that a couple weeks in the hospital. I couldn’t do a thing, I could hardly walk. You think about everything. You sit there and think and it’s amazing how crazy you can drive yourself. But it made me realize I love it. You weigh the pros and cons, and it doesn’t compare. It’s like a baby on one side and a sumo wrestler on the other.”

Arpin says he’d love to return to race at his “home” track in Emo. The couple gets to Minnesota and Fort Frances a couple times each year for family gatherings.

“I told my wife, just few weeks ago, I would love to get back home and race Emo,” he said. “It would be awesome.”

Meanwhile, Arpin says his upbringing taught him that the old saying “you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with” is true.

“I have surrounded myself with good, incredible people,” he said. “That’s what got us to the level we’re at now.”

He says he’s fortunate to have a team that is as crazy about racing as he is.

“The hours our team is putting in is ungodly. Each day trying to learn more things. The competition is so tough and so close you have to work every minute you have that you’re not at the race track.”

Arpin is seeking sponsors for his jump to the Nationwide series. “Are there any companies up there interested in getting good marketing?” he asked.

He’s now with the Venturini Motor Sports, a family-run company. “The dad, big Bill, won a couple ARCA championships, and he holds track records at Talladega and Daytona. After he got out of the car, son Billy got into it and did some good racing, Now Billy is running the shop, leading the team and making a true development team to take drivers to the next level.

“It’s a bunch of crazy Italians and a crazy Canadian, what a combination, eh?”

By: LAUREL BEAGER, Editor

International Falls Daily Journal