Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards: Up and Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year Nominees

UP AND COMING STOCK CAR RACER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
Canada’s next crop of stock car stars in the running for Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards

TORONTO, ON – An important aspect of the Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards presented by Castrol is the program’s ability to shine a light on the future stars of Canadian motorsports. Since being launched in 2002, well-known drivers like Pete Shepherd Jr., Jason Hathaway, Derek Polack and Tyler Brown have received the prestigious ‘Up and Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year’ award, as voted by the readers of Inside Track Motorsport News.

This year’s list of nominees features six racers who have already made a mark on their sport despite their young ages. Canadian motorsports fans are able to cast their votes online at http://www.insidetracknews.com/ until midnight on Friday, March 14 to help determine the overall winners in this and 11 other categories.

Steve Arpin enjoyed a ‘dream’ season in 2007. The Fort Frances, Ont. racer piloted his #00eh Open Wheel Modified on 47 different tracks in 22 different U.S. states. Arpin went from “coast to coast and north to south” on his way to amassing 18 feature wins and 42 top-five finishes.

“That was a pretty amazing season for us, although we ran into some motor issues toward the end of the season,” said Arpin. “But things are sorted out now and has given us a good balance to start ’08.”

Arpin’s successes saw him declared the North Florida Nationals champion, a further five-race winning streak carrying him to the Florida DIRTcar Winternationals UMP Modified points championship. At the (five-day) IMCA Dakota Classic Modified event, he won every heat and feature race that he entered heading to the contest crown.

Victories followed in Ohio (101 American Heritage Classic) as well as Rice Lake Speedway (Memorial Day Special) and Deer Creek Speedway (Wissota Heartland Nationals). The 24-year-old racer ended the year by being declared the 2007 Fall Modified National Champion.

At 20 years of age, Michael Kipp started the 2007 racing season as the defending Western Canada Baby Grand Series champion. Throughout his ensuing 21-race schedule (12 events in Canada, nine in the U.S.), he proceeded to dominate his competition, winning every feature race, but one.

“And I was right on the leader’s bumper that whole race,” notes Kipp. “But I didn’t have my mechanic with me that night [in Regina] and my setup was off. I nearly got him, though!”
This impressive record not only assured the Beaumont, Alberta resident driver of his second consecutive Baby Grand Canadian title, but also earned him the Int’l Western Pro Division (U.S.) crown.

“Last year, we kind of blew everyone out of the water, so it’s time to try something different. I’ll still run the #22 Baby Grand, but I’m going to try a few races in the Truck and Late Model divisions at Edmonton International Raceway just to see what direction I might take later on.”

Spencer MacPherson admitted to being “kind of shocked” to learn that he’d been nominated for the ‘Up and Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year’ award. The 19-year-old from Carleton Place, Ont. was a standout in his sophomore year racing in the Late Model division at Ottawa’s Capital City Speedway.

Over the course of the 2007 season, MacPherson made the trip to victory lane on five occasions. In the final point standings, he fell just shy of the overall division title, losing the championship by a mere five points to eventual winner Rick Rump.

Progressing up the racing ladder, MacPherson took part in four contests on the highly competitive American-Canadian Tour (ACT) in ‘07, rolling up three top-10 finishes. His best result was a third at Autodrome Montmagny.

“The Late Model field at Capital City may not be very big but there are a lot of strong runners there. Next year, we would like to run more events in the ACT, we will probably do the full Castrol (Quebec) ACT Series plus run a couple of events in the U.S.”

When your father is multi-time CASCAR champion Steve Robblee, it’s almost demanded that you will pursue a racing career, too. In 2007, 20-year-old Matt Robblee proved that he not only inherited his father’s passion, but also his talent and heavy right foot, as well.

In his first season behind the wheel of an Ontario Sportsman Series presented by Castrol (OSS) car (following a five year stint in Delaware Speedway’s Truck Division), Matt claimed a 50-lap feature win at Cayuga Speedway. He ended the year in third-place overall in the OSS points championship, bested only by his father and Mike Hryniuk.

“It was a great season; the racing was 10 times better than what I’ve been used to,” said Robblee. “It was a real learning experience. And it was really something to watch, or at least follow, my dad.” With his rookie season behind him, Matt plans to return to the OSS with an eye to climbing a couple of steps higher on the championship ladder.

In 2007, a regular summer’s weekend saw Terrance Bay, Nova Scotia’s Craig Slaunwhite racing his Late Model Sportsman on Friday night at Halifax’s Scotia Speedworld before heading up the road to Antigonish’s (NS) Riverside Int’l Speedway on Saturday night. And by year’s end, his hard work was rewarded with division championships at both venues.

In between his regular gig, Slaunwhite managed to squeeze in three races in the CARQUEST Maritime Pro Stock Tour, claiming victory in the Pepsi 250 at Shediac, NB en route to being declared the Atlantic/Canadian Champion.

“The win was nice, but my favourite race was the second Pro Stock event at Scotia Speedworld. I led 105 laps but had to pit twice for tires and that put me to the back of the field. I worked my way forward but on the last lap I tried to make a pass for third and spun out. A good night that ended with a bad deal.”

The Watson Racing family has a long and rich history at Ontario’s Barrie Speedway, having built the circuit many years ago and having multiple clan members in action, at any given time, throughout the decades. So it was almost inevitable 14-year-old Brandon Watson would get into the fray at the family’s ‘home’ track. In 2007, after two seasons of ‘4 Cylinder’ action, Brandon slipped behind the wheel of a Late Model car at Barrie.

In seven race starts at Barrie Speedway, this shy youngster ran up six top-10 finishes, his best result a third place showing. Continuing to expand his horizons, the Watson Crew trekked to Kawartha Speedway (near Peterborough, Ont.) where Brandon entered a 100-lap invitational. Competing for the first time against some of Ontario’s top Late Model pilots, Watson came away with a credible, and rewarding, fourth-place finish.

“I was really tired by the end of the race, but pretty happy with the results,” said Brandon. “And it didn’t bother me much racing against those other drivers, I wasn’t overwhelmed by them.” With the youthful confidence inspired by talent, Brandon will continue to race his Late Model in ’08 and hopes to augment his schedule with a few ACT appearances.

To date, more than 2,500 Canadian racing fans have visited http://www.insidetracknews.com/ to register their votes for the Inside Track Readers Choice Awards presented by Castrol. Voting remains open until Friday, March 14, 2008. Results will appear in print and online shortly thereafter.