Nothing brings a bigger smile to the face Arie Schouten than karate, animals and dirt track auto racing.
Racing since he was just 8-years-old, it’s a sport that runs in his blood. His cousin, grandfather and great-grandfather were all in the race car business. They were drivers, car owners, or a part of the pit crew. His sisters, Ahnna and Loryn, also race. Arie’s great-grandfather, Les Vaughn, was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2000. Les Vaughn Offenhauser memorabilia is also displayed at the Knoxville Museum in Iowa. Vaughn had eight race cars, which were raced all over the Midwest in the late 50s and early 60s.
Arie started his career racing cage karts more than 10 years ago. Since then, he has become a stiff competitor racing at dirt tracks across the country. Arie is now racing in the IMCA Northern Sports Modified division. When he started racing in this division at age 14, he was the youngest driver in all of the races he entered.
In 2013, Arie set a goal to become the IMCA Rookie of the Year in the IMCA Northern Sport Modified division. After racing four nights a week, for six months, in nine racetracks throughout Nebraska and Iowa, he came pretty darn close. Schouten placed 10th in the nation in IMCA rookie points and 74th place out of 1,430 IMCA racers overall. That’s in the top 5 percent. He also went through 20 tires and rims, four drive shafts, two transmissions, two bodies and spent hours of straightening bent parts and hammering out sheet metal.
In 2014, Arie continued his rigorous competitive schedule and raced three nights a week in racetracks throughout Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas.
He finished in the top 17th percent for the IMCA Northern Sport Modified division. In 2015 and 2016, he finished in the top 5 percent nationwide.
As a young college student juggling school and racing, he has had to cut back his racing to one night a week. Despite his reduced presence on the racetrack, Arie still places in the top 4 percent in the IMCA, racing at NASCAR tracks around the country. In one of his best races this past summer, he finished 3rd on the NASCAR racetrack at the I-80 Speedway.
Besides racing, Arie’s favorite pastimes include building race cars and karate for which he has earned a black belt. He has earned a black belt in weapons. He is also active with the Holiday Horsepower Foundation, which donates gifts to children in the hospital. He and his father, Brian Schouten (Gus) built his modified car from the ground up in their shop, Hoghouse Motorsports.
Arie has completed the RaceWise Dirt Track Chassis School, which has schooled racers from all over the world, including three world winners. He received training from a former racing champion at the Dirt Skills 90 class in North Carolina designed to teach racers how the car reacts to changing track conditions and driver input. He also attended the Bob Harris Chassis School to hone his competition skills.
Watch for updates of Arie’s racing schedule on Facebook and Instagram.