Richards to fill in for Arpin in ARCA Series
July 9, 2010By Jason Feldman
SPRING VALLEY — Josh Richards has never been shy about it: His ultimate goal in racing is to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
While the 22-year-old from Shinnston, W.Va., is focused on capturing a second consecutive World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship, he couldn't turn down an opportunity to take a step up and help out a driver familiar to local racing fans.
Richards will fill in for former Grand Meadow driver Steve Arpin in the ARCA Racing Series. Arpin is being moved into the premier NASCAR Nationwide Series car for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team, the No. 88 Chevy.
Richards will take Arpin's place in the No. 55 Venturini Motorsports ARCA car on July 17 at Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park. Arpin will compete in Nationwide Series events at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., on July 17 and at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, on July 31.
Venturini Motorsports has not named a driver for the No. 55 ARCA car for the July 31 race.
Arpin will also be at Iowa Speedway this Saturday for the ARCA Prairie Meadows 200.
"This is one of those situations where an opportunity fell into my lap," Arpin said. "As important as everything in the ARCA series is to us, the long-term plan is for the JR Motorsports opportunity in front of us."
Both Arpin and Richards were at Wednesday's Gopher 50 charity race at Deer Creek Speedway. Richards competed in the Late Models race. He is the defending World of Outlaws series champion and currently leads the points standings by 16 over Tim McCreadie.
Arpin competed in the USRA Modifieds division Wednesday, placing 11th in the feature in a car put together by fellow USRA Mod driver Mike Sorensen of Rochester.
Arpin is coming off his best finish in a Nationwide race, a 10th-place showing at last weekend's Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Billy Venturini, owner of the No. 55 ARCA car, is fully supportive of Arpin's ascension in the racing world.
"That's what our ARCA program is designed to do, to help guys move on," said Venturini, who traveled with Arpin to Deer Creek on Wednesday. "The JR Motorsports opportunity was way too good for Steve to pass up. We're lucky we were able to showcase his talents and it's our way of seeing that we succeeded."
Related News
« Back to News
OUR SPONSORS
 |
 |