Steve Arpin Keeps Rolling In DIRTcar Nationals At Volusia, Wins Third Straight UMP Modified Main On Friday
BARBERVILLE , FL – Feb. 9, 2007 – The Steve Arpin Express rolled along on Friday night at Volusia Speedway Park .
Continuing his domination of UMP DIRTcar Racing Modified action this month, Fort Frances , Ont.’s Arpin made Friday’s 25-lap feature his third straight victory of the 36th annual DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Mopar Speedshop.
Arpin, 23, earned $2,000 for the extra-distance triumph – his fifth overall in six starts since making the over 1,500-mile trek to Florida from his residence in Rochester , Minn. , one week ago. He also swept both nights of the North Florida Winternationals on Feb. 2-3 at North Florida Speedway in Lake City .
With a fourth-place in the DIRTcar Nationals opener on Feb. 6 being his only loss so far in the Sunshine State , Arpin has earned a total of nearly $7,000 in one week of UMP Modified action.
Arpin’s Friday-night win might have been his most difficult yet. He faced serious competition from Joey Kramer of Hanover , Ind. , and Mark Dotson of Cameron , Mo.
Arpin, who started third in his Action Engineering-powered Larry Shaw Race Cars No. 00, overtook race-long pacesetter Dotson for the lead on lap 11. But a restart slip by Arpin allowed Kramer to slip in front on lap 16.
Dotson followed Kramer by Arpin and began bidding to regain command. On lap 23, however, Dotson’s hopes ended after contact with Kramer caused him to spin, forcing him to the rear of the field.
Arpin then seized the moment, driving by Kramer for the lead on the ensuing restart. The talented Canadian paced the final two circuits to extend his win streak and pad his DIRTcar Nationals points edge.
Halfway through the eight-race UMP Modified meet at Volusia, Arpin holds a 36-point advantage (314-278) over Kramer and Brian Strand of Bemidji , Minn. , who are tied for second.
Kramer settled for his second consecutive runner-up finish, several car lengths behind Arpin.
Dave Groves of Morgantown , W.Va. , finished third, followed by David Cain of Corcoran , Minn. , and Lee Hobbs of Bedford, Ind. All three drivers registered their first top-five finishes of the DIRTcar Nationals.
Finishing sixth was North Carolina ’s Austin Dillon, the 16-year-old grandson of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress. It was the teenager’s first top 10 run of the week.
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 (25 laps):
1. Steve Arpin
2. Joey Kramer
3. Dave Groves
4. David Cain
5. Lee Hobbs
6. Austin Dillon
7. Ed Lenhardt
8. Brian Strand
9. David McWilliams
10. Shane Williams
11. Mark Dotson
12. Chad Evans
13. J.E. Stadler
14. Gabe Menser
15. Scotty Kincaid
16. Bruce Takash
17. Vance Wilson
18. Don Kiger
19. Kevin Adams
20. Ray Walsh
21. Gary Clark
22. Tom Seets Sr.
23. Julie McDermid
24. Brad Waits
DNQ: Scotty Owens, Jeff Sharp, Jerry Muenster, Bruce Bellard, Mike Lewis, David Ostrander, Blake Jetvig, Mike Spatola, Mike Phillips, Todd Ferber, Kenny Wallace, Brad Miller, Jeff Mathews, Jared Hawkins, Aaron Ogle, Greg Vandergriff, Shon Daughtrey, Adam Pearson, Benji Lacrosse, Ron Barker, Shawn Peterson, Roger Moser, Arlan Coy, Steve Johnson, Rick Scott, Randy Owens
DIRTcar Nationals UMP Modified Point Standings (after 4 of 8 events):
1. Steve Arpin 314
2. Joey Kramer 278
2. Brian Strand 278
4. Ray Walsh 254
5. Kenny Wallace 240
6. Mark Dotson 238
7. Vance Wilson 226
8. Brad Waits 222
9. David McWilliams 220
10. Lee Hobbs 216
11. Ron Barker 202
12. Gabe Menser 200
13. Kevin Adams 198
14. Tom Seets Sr. 190
15. Julie McDermid 172
16. Gary Clark 170
17. Austin Dillon 156
18. Jeff Mathews 136
19. Bruce Takach 134
20. Ed Lenhardt 128
21. Don Kiger 126
22. Jake Hawkins 122
22. J.E. Stadler 122
24. Adam Pearson 120
25. Roger Moser 114
