Earlier this month, Chip Ganassi Racing made a groundbreaking announcement, stating that they would be fielding two entries in the Global Rallycross Series in 2015.
“As a fan of motorsports I’m particularly interested in the GRC cars, their horsepower levels and the absence of traction control but make no mistake about it, we are in this series to win – both on and off the race track,” Chip Ganassi stated per the press release. “Also, GRC has proven to be a very innovative and fresh take on today’s motorsport product. The series is targeting a new demographic and aligns with ours and more importantly with our partners’ focus on connecting with Millennials.”
One of the drivers that will be driving for the organization this upcoming season is Fort Frances, Ontario native Steve Arpin, as he enters his third season in GRC.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this all put together and to talk about it now,” he told SpeedwayMedia.com. “This was a big secret to try and hold on to. Just to be involved like Chip Ganassi Racing, and to bring partners in everyone at Loenbro and all of their employees over there, it’s huge. I think a dream come true is an understatement. I don’t think is something that I could’ve dreamt up. For any racer to be able to drive for a gentleman like Mr. Ganassi, it’s an honor. It’s an accomplishment that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Arpin says discussions started about the possibility of CGR forming a GRC team when some of CGR’s higher management attended the X-Games event.
“When I saw their higher management poking around at the X-Games last year, it really just opened up the opportunity to have some conversations,” he stated.
The Canadian has competed in the series over the past two year, saying that he was originally attracted to the series, from a sponsor/marketing standpoint.
“One of the things that I’ve always been active in is my relationships with my sponsors and trying to pinpoint exactly what they’re looking for, and wanting to achieve with the programs they get involved with,” he explained. “One of the hardest things to do anymore is to communicate with the younger demographic. Today’s youth is really tough to communicate with a marketing platform, and that’s one thing that the GRC has that makes it unique compared to other forms of motorsports.”
Combining the good marketing platform with racing that “looked like a blast,” it began the perfect puzzle for Arpin in moving his career forward. Last year, he had a solid season, finishing seventh in points with a podium and four heat wins.
“I think the year started off great last year,” he commented. “The last couple of years have been a great learning platform. It was a frustrating year for sure. To run the first half of the season in the top three in points and within striking distance of the lead, to fall back to eighth without even an opportunity at the top-five if nobody showed up was frustrating, and that was all mechanical problems. We didn’t crash a single time. With that being said, it was frustrating – but at the same time, it was really good to learn and prepare myself for an opportunity like I have today.”
Arpin hopes to carry what he has learned the past two seasons into having success this year, and scoring his first career oval victory. Going into the year, the goals are simple – be competitive each and every week, and win races. Though he also recognizes that with the new team, there will be some growing pains.
“It’s a start-up program and no matter what you do and how prepared you are, you’re going to encounter some growing pains,” he stated. “I want to be like a leader for our group that really helps the guys pull through those growing pains, learning from them, and making the best of them, and being strong enough in the areas that we have complete control over so when we encounter those kinds of stuff, we can absorb it and keep pushing on.”
The potential to have success in the GRC is high this year, though the opportunity with Ganassi opens other doors for Arpin, it may seem. Ganassi fields cars in NASCAR, Verizon IndyCar Series, and TUDOR Sports Car Series. Arpin has NASCAR experience under his belt, having ran some Camping World Truck Series races for Turner-Scott Motorsports and some XFINITY Series races for JR Motorsports. Could he run some NASCAR races in the future?
“I’ll tell you from my perspective, my 100% focus is solely and strictly on the GRC. That’s the only thing that I’m interested in at this point,” he said. “I want to do this with 100% of my focus and do it right. As we get rolling and taking care of themselves, I can promise that I will be the first to start poking around and seeing what those opportunities might be. It’d be an honor to get into something with that level of equipment and level of teammates, and people involved. It’d honestly be a really neat opportunity.”
