By: Kevin Ramsell
Morris, IL – Paul Shafer Jr. had a big day at his home track in Morris, IL. He joined an elite group of being a three-time winner of the Bettenhausen Memorial at Grundy County Speedway.
He also became the first two-time winner this season in the Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA Midwest Tour presented by Five Star Race Car Bodies.
Shafer would get past Mitch Haver on lap 23 to lead the final 76 laps.
But those last 76 laps were not a relaxing drive as he kept seeing his fellow championship contenders Casey Johnson and Penn Sauter staying within five car lengths.
Johnson and Sauter were hoping for lap traffic to play a role in catching Shafer.
With six laps to go, Shafer would get a little nervous as the caution came out when Jake Weinreich spun going into turn one.
Because the race would restart with less than 10 laps to go, a single-file restart would work to Shafer’s advantage as he got a good start over Johnson and headed off to the checkered flag. Sauter would finish third with Levon Van Der Geest in fourth and defending winner Ricky Baker in fifth.
Shafer credited his success to his long-time crew chief Chris Purdy.
“My crew chief Chris Purdy works on this thing. Day and night, all the time. 24 hours a day, thinking about it, and this one he thought about, and it worked,” a smiling Shafer said in victory lane. “So this thing is pretty awesome. It’s pretty cool to be in victory lane here at the Bettenhausen, and I can’t thank him enough for everything he does on this thing. So him, all my guys, you know, they make this thing happen. I’m just fortunate enough to be able to drive it.”
Johnson came into the Bettenhausen only 14 points behind Penn Sauter in the standings. Even though he finished one spot ahead of Sauter, his focus is just the next race, which is the season finale Oktoberfest 200 on Sunday, October 11th at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wi.
“I don’t know, I’m just gonna go up there and try to win the race,” Johnson said. “Then, I guess it’s whatever happens happens. I mean, you can’t really think about that stuff too much. You just gotta go run your race and let everything play out.”
Sauter’s third-place finish will give him a little lead heading into Fest. But he will have Johnson and Shafer on his heels for the title.
This could come down to a last-lap showdown at Fest.
Blake Brown took home the odd heat while Paul Shafer Jr. won the even heat. Stan Zolodz IV won the qualifier heat.
Johnson was the fastest qualifier with a time of 14.369 seconds.
The Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA Midwest Tour presented by Five Star Race Car Bodies will head to the 57th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend and headline the final day on Sunday, October 11th with the Oktoberfest 200.
A replay of today’s race can be seen on tracktv.com.
For more information, please visit midwesttour.racing.