Shaffer Wire-to-Wire at Bubba Raceway Park
OCALA, Fla. (February 2, 2018) – Tim Shaffer capitalized on a front row starting position by leading all the way to pocket the $5,000 winner’s share in Friday night’s second round of All Star Circuit of Champions action atop the 1/3-mile D-shaped Bubba Raceway Park clay oval.
After gunning into the lead at the outset aboard the Rudzik Excavating No. 49x, Shaffer held off some late pressure from Kerry Madsen to secure his 61st career series victory.
“I was just trying to be patient,” Shaffer said of the closing laps. “Last night I wasn’t and it cost me.”
Shaffer earned the front row starting position by winning his heat race from the front row outside and then winning the night’s second Dash.
From there it was clear Florida sailing for the Aliquippa, PA, racer aside from one tense moment in traffic in late going as the track was locking down with rubber.
“It’s always toughest to get that first win of the year,” Shaffer explained. “It makes everyone feel better.”
Shaffer jumped out front right away with Mark Smith taking second away from Tyler Clem on the second round. Clem was dicing for second with Smith only to be collected by the spinning car of John Garvin on the ninth round with fourth-running Sheldon Haudenschild caught up in the tangle as well.
Shaffer took off again on the restart with Madsen gradually working his way up from fifth, ultimately moving into second by the time the race’s second and final caution flew after 20 laps for Carson Short’s turn four spin.
Madsen kept the pressure on over the final ten rounds but was unable to find an opening, despite the one that Shaffer nearly left when a lapped car came into play.
“I did think about it for a minute, but I decided to hit the brakes instead of taking us both out,” Madsen commented.
After being eliminated in a late tangle while among the top five of Thursday night, Mark Smith rebounded to post a third place finish. “I’ll take it after last night,” the Sunbury, PA, shoe explained.
Coleman Gulick and 14th-starter Paul McMahan rounded out the top five.
(Paul Arch photo)
The Vitals…
Series: All Star Circuit of Champions
Track: Bubba Raceway Park (Ocala, FL)
Car Count: 34
Quick Time: Kerry Madsen set the night’s standard at 11.848 seconds.
Heat Winners (starting position in parentheses): Tyler Clem (2), Coleman Gulick (2), Tim Shaffer (2), Sheldon Haudenschild (2).
Heat Moments: Timing third among their respective groups was key as all three heat winners came from the front row outside in four cautionless heats.
Dash Winners (starting position in parentheses): Tyler Clem (4), Tim Shaffer (1).
“B” Main Winner (starting position in parentheses): Trevor Baker (4).
“B” Main Moments: Series Rookie of the Year contender Baker rallied by Danny Smith on the high side midway through en route to picking up the win; Steve Buckwalter survived a lap one 360-degree spin to take a transfer position, though it came at the expense of George Hobaugh, who was shuffled out of the top four on the last lap by Buckwalter and John Garvin.
“A” Main Cautions: Two
8 Laps – John Garvin spins in front of the leaders in turn two, collecting second-place Tyler Clem and fourth-place Sheldon Haudenschild.
20 Laps – Carson Short spins to a stop in turn four.
“A” Main Hard Charger: Steve Buckwalter gained the most by climbing ten positions from 24th to 14.
The Box Score…
All Star Circuit of Champions – Friday, February 2, 2018 Results:
Qualifying: 1. 2m-Kerry Madsen 11.848, 2. 10h-Chad Kemenah 11.944, 3. M1-Mark Smith 11.987, 4. 14-Tony Stewart 12.055, 5. 14T-Tyler Clem 12.062, 6. 48-Danny Dietrich 12.067, 7. 4-Parker Price-Miller 12.076, 8. 49x-Tim Shaffer 12.082, 9. 5m-Max Stambaugh 12.121, 10. 51-John Garvin 12.127, 11. 7k-Cale Conley 12.127, 12. 5w-Lucas Wolfe 12.159, 13. 14g-Coleman Gulick 12.161, 14. 4x-Danny Smith 12.186, 15. 21-Carson Short 12.188, 16. 13-Paul McMahan 12.250, 17. 17b-Steve Buckwalter 12.282, 18. 24-Rico Abreu 12.304, 19. 17s-Sheldon Haudenschild 12.317, 20. 40h-George Hobaugh 12.352, 21. 17-Caleb Helms 12.364, 22. 45-Trevor Baker 12.454, 23. 44-Trey Starks 12.524, 24. 2c-Wayne Johnson 12.579, 25. 1080-Jordan Mackison 12.614, 26. 27-Greg Hodnett 12.645, 27. 1p-Curtis Evans 12.658, 28. 95-Hunter Mackison 12.668, 29. 70-Dave Blaney 12.680, 30. 49h-Bradley Howard 12.835, 31. 7J-Joe Swanson 12.843, 32. 91-Anthony Fiore 12.990, 33. 40-Mark Imler 13.159, 34. 33-Brent Matus 14.161.
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 14T-Tyler Clem, [2]; 2. M1-Mark Smith, [3]; 3. 5M-Max Stambaugh, [1]; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah, [4]; 5. 7K-Cale Conley, [6]; 6. 4X-Danny Smith, [7]; 7. 17-Caleb Helms, [8]; 8. 51-John Garvin, [5]; 9. 1080-Jordan Mackison, [9]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 14G-Coleman Gulick, [2]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, [4]; 3. 21-Carson Short, [1]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan, [5]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, [3]; 6. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, [6]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [7]; 8. 95-Hunter Mackison, [9]; 9. 1P-Curtis Evans, [8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, [2]; 2. 4-Parker Price-Miller, [3]; 3. 14-Tony Stewart, [4]; 4. 44-Trey Starks, [1]; 5. 70-Dave Blaney, [5]; 6. 7J-Joe Swanson, [6]; 7. 40-Mark Imler, [7]; 8. 33-Brent Matus, [8]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 17S-Sheldon Haudenschild, [2]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, [4]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu, [3]; 4. 27-Greg Hodnett, [6]; 5. 91-Anthony Fiore, [8]; 6. 45-Trevor Baker, [5]; 7. 40H-George Hobaugh Jr., [1]; 8. 49H-Bradley Howard, [7]
Dash 1 (4 Laps): 1. 14T-Tyler Clem, [4]; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah, [1]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen, [5]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich, [3]; 5. 4-Parker Price-Miller, [2]
Dash 2 (4 Laps): 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, [1]; 2. M1-Mark Smith, [3]; 3. 17S-Sheldon Haudenschild, [4]; 4. 14-Tony Stewart, [5]; 5. 14G-Coleman Gulick, [2]
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 45-Trevor Baker, [4]; 2. 4X-Danny Smith, [2]; 3. 51-John Garvin, [1]; 4. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, [3]; 5. 40H-George Hobaugh Jr., [6]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [8]; 7. 7J-Joe Swanson, [5]; 8. 49H-Bradley Howard, [11]; 9. 95-Hunter Mackison, [10]; 10. 17-Caleb Helms, [7]; 11. 1080-Jordan Mackison, [13]; 12. 1P-Curtis Evans, [14]; 13. 40-Mark Imler, [9]; 14. 33-Brent Matus, [12]
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, [2]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, [5]; 3. M1-Mark Smith, [4]; 4. 14G-Coleman Gulick, [10]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan, [14]; 6. 10H-Chad Kemenah, [3]; 7. 27-Greg Hodnett, [16]; 8. 48-Danny Dietrich, [7]; 9. 14-Tony Stewart, [8]; 10. 4-Parker Price-Miller, [9]; 11. 24-Rico Abreu, [13]; 12. 7K-Cale Conley, [17]; 13. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, [18]; 14. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, [24]; 15. 14T-Tyler Clem, [1]; 16. 91-Anthony Fiore, [20]; 17. 5M-Max Stambaugh, [11]; 18. 70-Dave Blaney, [19]; 19. 21-Carson Short, [12]; 20. 44-Trey Starks, [15]; 21. 17S-Sheldon Haudenschild, [6]; 22. 51-John Garvin, [23]; 23. 45-Trevor Baker, [21]; 24. 4X-Danny Smith, [22]
Lap leaders: Tim Shaffer 1-30.
