THE GOOD LIFE

Steve Apel drives the Acieta super late model racecar. He has won five track championships at Slinger Speedway.

Racing into a career opportunity

By Alex Zank, staff writer

Steve Apel discovered auto racing at just two years old, when he started going to the shop with his father, who was a crew member on a race team. At 14, he started driving. But to sustain his hobby, he needed money.

It was at the race track where he met the person who drove him to a career in the automation business.

“It just so happened, the racing and the business kind of merged one night,” Apel said.

Apel is a Midwest regional automation manager for Acieta LLC, a Waukesha-based robotic systems integrator. He also participates in super late model car racing competitions nearly every Sunday at Slinger Speedway from April through September.

The time and effort put into this lifestyle goes beyond race days. Apel said he spends roughly 30 hours a week on average preparing for races, including car maintenance and repair.

He drew connections between his job and hobby. There’s the competitiveness that fuels racing cars and making sales. In fact, Apel said his introduction to sales was procuring money and sponsorships in order to race on weekends.

“In the sales position I’m in, winning is everything,” he said. “If you don’t win, you don’t bring any work into the business. Being extremely competitive is something that drives me. I don’t like to lose, and if I do lose, I try to learn how to get better so I don’t lose again.”

The competitive drive of Apel and his team has led to five track championships at Slinger Speedway over the past 15 years, a feat that puts him among a small group including the likes of professional racing drivers Matt Kenseth and Conrad Morgan. n

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