By Kevin Kovac
BARBERVILLE , FL – Feb. 7, 2007 – Steve Arpin’s excellent winter adventure to Florida continued on Wednesday night.
The native of Fort Frances , Ont., extended his Sunshine State tear to Volusia Speedway Park , capturing the second 20-lap UMP DIRTcar Racing Modified feature of the 36th annual DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Mopar Speedshop.
It was the third win in four Florida UMP Modified starts for Arpin, who started his trip south by sweeping both nights of the North Florida Winternationals on Feb. 2-3 at North Florida Speedway in Lake City. He finished fourth in Volusia’s DIRTcar Nationals opener on Tuesday.
Arpin, 23, used his experience racing at the half-mile, D-shaped oval – this is the fourth consecutive year he’s entered the DIRTcar Nationals, and he owns several wins at Volusia – to outrun NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series veteran Kenny Wallace to the checkered flag.
Wallace, coming off a victory in the previous night’s DIRTcar Nationals opener for the UMP Modifieds, grabbed the lead at the start. But Arpin overtook the popular Midwesterner early in the distance and never looked back, pulling away to a convincing win in his Larry Shaw-built No. 00.
Wallace settled for runner-up money with his St. Louis Cardinals-schemed No. 36, keeping him in the points lead after two of eight DIRTcar Nationals events for the UMP Modifieds. The open-wheel division runs every night at Volusia through Feb. 13.
Ray Walsh of St. Louis , Mo. , finished third, followed by Ron Barker of Dubuque , Iowa , and Gary Clark of Walker , Mo.
Forty-eight cars were entered in the evening’s action.
Among the new additions to the UMP Modified field on Wednesday night was 16-year-old Austin Dillon, the grandson of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress. Racing a car from the RCR Driver Development Program stable under the watchful eye of 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series standout Dale McDowell, Dillon finished 20th in the A-Main.
For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing or the DIRTcar Nationals, visit www.umpracing.com or www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com.
UMP DIRTcar Racing Modified Feature Finish (20 laps):
1. Steve Arpin
2. Kenny Wallace
3. Ray Walsh
4. Ron Barker
5. Gary Clark
6. Brian Strand
7. Kevin Adams
8. Mark Dotson
9. David McWilliams
10. Joey Kramer
11. Vance Wilson
12. Jeff Mathews
13. Brad Waits
14. Jake Hawkins
15. Steve Johnson
16. Adam Pearson
17. Gabe Menser
18. Charlie McNichol
19. Lee Hobbs
20. Austin Dillon
21. Tom Seets Sr.
22. Julie McDermid
23. Jerry Muenster
24. Dan Ostrander
DNQ: Shane Williams, Roger Moser, Brett Chilsom, Shon Flanery, Aaron Ogle, Bruce Bellard, Phil Sturm, Mike Phillips, Chad Evans, Mike Spatola, Don Kiger, Billy Palmer, Brad Miller, Rick Scott, Mike Lewis, Gary Brooks, Ed Lenhardt, Scotty Kincaid, Dennis Richards, Blake Jetvig, J.E. Stadler, Joe Devall, Todd Ferber, Benji Lacrosse
