Jonathan Shafer put together the best race of his brief CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour career one year ago at Dominion Raceway.
After qualifying on the pole for Nelson Motorsports, Shafer lead a race-high 58 laps before a recurring transmission issue forced him to settle for a disappointing yet solid fourth-place finish.
Shafer has had Saturday’s Radley Chevrolet 125 circled on his calendar since his near-miss at Dominion in 2020 and is confident that he can break through for his first CARS Tour victory with Lee Pulliam Performance.
“I’m excited to go back to [Dominion],” Shafer said. “It’s a really fun track because it is fast and banked. I think we’ll have a really good car this weekend and I’m really looking forward to what we can do.”
Shafer’s run at Dominion was the only Top 5 of his rookie season but the inconsistencies of that year only motivated him to become a better driver by any available means.
Following an eighth place finish at Langley Speedway with the CARS Tour, Shafer climbed into a Dirt Midget for the first time in over a year to participate in the second half of USAC Indiana Midget Week with Keith Kunz Motorsports.
Shafer failed to qualify for three consecutive races before finally making a feature in the finale at Kokomo Speedway, where he finished in 18th after starting in the 10th position.
Shafer said that racing on dirt has been a challenging yet rewarding experience, as he believes leaning off KKM and making laps around difficult tracks like Kokomo have helped him feel more comfortable in a Late Model Stock.
“That was a really tough field at Kokomo,” Shafer said. “I’ve learned so much from everyone at [KKM] and they are a great group of people. There’s so much throttle control on dirt with the track always changing and I’ve been able to carry that skill over to asphalt.”
Now that Indiana Midget Week is behind him, Shafer is turning his attention back to the CARS Tour, where he is looking to finish the second half of the season strong after claiming only one Top 5 at Ace Speedway.
Shafer knows that he is capable of winning in Pulliam’s equipment after observing the success of former drivers like Corey Heim and is optimistic that his team is getting closer to victory lane with every race.
Shafer intends to keep talking with Pulliam and his crew over the ensuing months to figure out what he needs and how he can put himself in contention for wins against former CARS Tour champions like Bobby McCarty and Jared Fryar.
“Everyone at Lee Pulliam Performance has been working hard to get these cars fast,” Shafer said. “We’re going back to a track I really like in Dominion and as long as I communicate well with everybody, we’ll have a great shot at that win.”
Last year’s Radley Chevrolet 125 is still fresh on Shafer’s mind but he determined to eclipse his career-best finish at Dominion and add his name to the growing list of CARS Tour winners.
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