(TOLEDO, Ohio – August 16, 2012) – Fort Frances, Ontario’s Steve Arpin cut his teeth in dirt modified racing in Canada and the upper Midwest. When the affable and energetic racer first landed on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards tour a few years back, ARCA’s dirt tracks seemed like a natural fit.

Arpin proved it when he smoked the competition with a runaway victory at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds mile dirt in 2010, driving for Venturini Motorsports. After a brief tenure in the NASCAR Nationwide Series tour, Arpin is steering back toward his dirt track roots this Sunday for the 50th running of the Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile dirt in Springfield. And that’s all just fine and dandy with him.

“I can’t wait,” Arpin said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else this weekend. A dirt track, ARCA, the State Fair. What could be better?

“I’m excited anytime I get on the dirt. And to reunite with Venturini Motorsports just adds to it for me. It’s going to be an incredible weekend.”

ARCA’s annual trek to the Springfield mile dirt has been on Arpin’s mind for some time.

“I actually did a bunch of dirt track racing first couple of weeks in July in Minnesota, North Dakota and Canada, to get ready for this race. My dad and I went on a little trip in the motorhome for a couple weeks. It was just like the good ole days.”

The ARCA race this Sunday is also much more to Arpin than just another dirt track race. It’s a connection to his past.

“One of my favorite races as a kid was at the fair in Emo (15 miles outside of Fort Frances, Ontario) back home in Canada. These fair races bring out the kid in you. The race is the best part, but you also get to take in the fair, which takes a lot of the seriousness out of the atmosphere. It makes it fun.”

But there is the seriousness of the race that commands Arpin’s attention.

“Biggest thing with the fair races are track conditions. The track you’re on for practice is different from the track you’re on for qualifying. It’s different from qualifying when you start the race, and it’s different when you end the race. You essentially race on four different tracks. That’s probably one aspect where experience makes a difference – anticipating how the track will end up at the end of the race.

“And qualifying is an event all unto itself. I just hope we get an early draw when there’s still bite and moisture in the track.

“Anytime you get in these big heavy cars, it’s a handful, and on the dirt these big heavy cars are constantly moving around. I’ve been keeping up with the series, with all the racers. They’re all so quick, and Kimmel, he’s good everywhere. It’s not going to be easy. There’ll be some readjusting; I’m only going to race three times with ARCA this year. Hopefully, we can knock the cobwebs off in practice without knocking anything else off.”

Arpin also raced for Venturini Motorsports at Elko Speedway (Minn.) back in June, and is slated to compete in the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds mile dirt Labor Day Monday, September 3.

Nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel is the all-time Allen Crowe 100 winner with seven victories on the historic fairgrounds mile dirt track. Curtis Turner won the inaugural Allen Crowe 100 in 1963. Just some of the winners who would follow also include Don White, AJ Foyt, Jack Bowsher, Al Unser, Ramo Stott, Dean Roper, Bob Keselowski, Ken Schrader, Springfield native Justin Allgaier and Parker Kligerman.

Practice for the August 19 Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds is scheduled from 9:00-10:00 a.m. with Menards Pole Award Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 11. The 50th annual Allen Crowe 100 starts at 1 p.m. All times are local.

ARCA Celebrating 60th Anniversary Season

2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time.

Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.