Jonathan Shafer
(Photo: Adam Fenwick)

NOTEBOOK: Accomplished dirt racer Jonathan Shafer eyes strong finish in ARCA debut at Dover

www.arcaracing.com April 28, 2022

Venturini Motorsports has a history of grooming young racers for the next steps in their motorsports careers.

Jonathan Shafer is hoping the team can do the same for him.

Shafer, 16, makes his ARCA Menards platform debut Friday in the General Tire 125 at Dover Motor Speedway. It’s one of five ARCA races he’ll compete in this year with Venturini Motorsports.

“I’m really excited to make my debut with Venturini,” Shafer told ARCARacing.com earlier this week. “They’ve got a lot of good guys there, and they know what they’re doing. They have really good equipment. There are a lot of drivers there who can also help me, so I’m really excited to make my debut with such a great team.”

Shafer is no stranger to motorsports. He’s been a regular dirt racer for several years, including competing for Keith Kunz Motorsports in the USAC National Midget Series and POWRi National Midget League the last few years.

In addition to his dirt exploits, Shafer also been a regular competitor with the CARS Late Model Stock Tour. This year he’s driving for R&S Race Cars in pursuit of the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship.

“I’ve set my base down,” said Shafer, who picked up a late model win earlier this year at South Carolina’s Greenville-Pickens Speedway in weekly competition. “I’ve got my dirt, I’ve got my late models. The next step is ARCA. I’m really excited to see what I can do.”

Despite having plenty of experience, none of that can prepare a driver for a track as intimidating as Dover Motor Speedway, which carriers the “Monster Mile” monicker.

Shafer explained he has taken advantage of time in the Toyota Racing simulator to help him prepare for his ARCA platform debut at Dover.

“The Toyota sim has helped a lot with the line and getting my throttle points down,” Shafer said. “The only thing I really think I’m going to have to get used to is obviously the speed and the banking. Once we get that down I think I’ll be pretty set, because that simulator, it seems to help a lot.”

As far as expectations for Friday’s 125-lap race, Shafer is a firm believer he can race within and finish in the top five in his first ARCA event.

“I’m pretty confident going into this,” Shafer beamed. “My goal would be to get a top-five finish. Just go out there and learn, race with people and learn the cars and the track.”

Rajah Caruth carries momentum to Monster Mile

Rajah Caruth may not have won at Talladega Superspeedway last week, but he has plenty of momentum on his side.

He led his first laps in ARCA Menards Series competition during the General Tire 150, which included a great block to hold the lead that earned him the Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race.

He ultimately finished sixth when the race was ended early due to time constraints, but his consistent finishes in the opening three races of the year has allowed Caruth to move into the ARCA Menards Series championship lead.

His focus now shifts to Dover Motor Speedway, where Caruth is set for double-duty in the ARCA Menards Series East and NASCAR Xfinity Series. It’ll be his first East Series start of the season after he finished third in the standings last year.

In the Xfinity Series, Caruth will make his second start of the year after making his series debut with a 24th-place finish at Richmond Raceway earlier this month for Alpha Prime Racing. He’ll pilot the No. 44 Circle Pay Chevrolet in Saturday’s A-Game 200 at Dover.

DGR bringing a new horse to Dover

David Gilliland Racing is pulling a new horse out of its stable for the General Tire 125 at Dover.

The team is debuting the new Ford Mustang body on Friday, with Taylor Gray slated to pilot the No. 17 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang.

David Gilliland Racing is the first team to utilize the new Ford Mustang body in ARCA competition as Ford begins the process of transitioning away from the current Ford Fusion body, which has been utilized in ARCA competition since 2014.

Notes:

  • Conner Jones will make his first ARCA start of the season Friday as part of a three-race deal with Venturini Motorsports. He’ll also compete in the ARCA Menards Series events at Iowa Speedway (June 11) and Salem Speedway (Oct. 1).
  • Announced earlier this week, Jake Finch will make his first start for Venturini Motorsports on Friday as part of a two-race deal with the team. He’ll also compete in the ARCA Menards Series event at Pocono Raceway on July 22 with Venturini.
  • Sammy Smith enters Friday’s General Tire 125 with a 12-point advantage in the East Series standings ahead of Taylor Gray. Leland Honeyman, who finished second in the most recent race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, is 13 points behind Smith in third.
  • Willie Mullins, currently fourth in the ARCA Menards Series East standings, will not be in attendance at Dover. His team was unable to prepare his race car in time for Friday’s race.