MORRIS, Ill. — Paul Shafer Jr. was the winner of the 65th annual Bettenhausen Memorial 100 Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA Midwest Tour late model stock car special Sunday evening at Grundy County Speedway.
Shafer wheeled his three-race old, Chris Purdy-prepped, Paul Shafer Motorsports/Track TV/Dynamic Metal Recycling Ford No.7 to the victory, finishing ahead of fast-qualifier Casey Johnson at the checkered flag.
The 29-year-old second-generation racer from Portage, Ind., posted his third Bettenhausen 100 victory, previously winning in 2018 and 2019. The two previous wins were track-sanctioned events. It was Shafer’s third Midwest Tour win of the season and a $6,500 payday.
Trailing the leading duo at the finish were Penn Sauter, Levon VanDerGeest, four-time Bettenhausen race winner Ricky Baker, D.J. Weltmeyer, Blake Brown, Justin Mondeik and Riley Stenjem.
Before Sunday’s race, third-generation driver Penn Sauter led the series points standings by 14 points over Casey Johnson with Shafer in third, 27 points behind, after seven events.
A field of 25 started the 100 lapper at the third-mile paved oval with pole sitter Mitch Haver taking the lead at the start. Haver led the way being chased by Shafer, who started third after setting eighth fast time during qualifications.
Running in the “top five,” Missouri’s Dylan Bates was a spin victim with 22 laps complete, bringing out the race’s first yellow flag.
Lining up double file for the restart, Haver took the inside lane with Shafer on the outside. When green flag racing returned, Shafer wasted no time taking the lead by the end of lap 23. Two more yellow flag caution periods slowed the action with Shafer up to the task of holding off Johnson, who had moved into second on lap 38, and others.
Shafer continued to show the way, moving through lapped traffic with Johnson closing the gap just a bit with Sauter, who had been in third since lap 49, in tow. Laps wound down with a late race caution with six laps to go, caused by a spinning Jake Weinreich, closing up the field for a final run to the finish.
With racing back underway, Shafer was up to the challenge, rolling to victory with a 0.317-second margin over Johnson.
“It’s so cool to win three (Bettenhausen 100 lappers) here at Grundy,” said Shafer. “It makes you think back though to Illiana Speedway (where the Bettenhausen race started). I ran a couple of them there.
“Grundy is really unique. I’ve run a lot of laps here. It’s my home track. When they spray track adhesive, the outside (groove) becomes better. At the beginning of the race, I knew the top (groove) would be good, definitely better than the bottom. The red seven car (Haver) was kind of burning up his right rear (tire), making a big arc into the corner. He took the bottom for the restart, not realizing the top was better. I jumped back to the bottom (once I was in the lead). I didn’t want to show my hand to everybody. I migrated to the top with the number five cars (Johnson and Sauter) behind me. On restarts here, it seems the bottom groove glazes over. It feels that there isn’t enough grip. As a driver, you pick up on these things.
“They (Johnson and Sauter) are both really good race car drivers. I had to protect the ‘home turf.’ When the season started, I wanted to win the ASA tour race at Grundy. That was my goal.”
The race was the final leg of the speedway’s Six Pack super late model series for 2026 with two-time track champion Ricky Baker claiming the championship
Cameron Preisler, racing out of Braidwood, Ill., was a first time Mid-Am Racing Series winner as he captured the Windy City Showdown Olson’s Iron/Disposal Recycling 40-lap headliner. Grabbing the lead from former series champion Scotty Gardner, Preisler raced to the win with a 1.284-second margin of victory over Gardner. A winner in four-cylinder, street stock and Mid Am sportsman competition at Grundy, Preisler drove his John Latham-owned Champion Drywall/Construction by Timco Chevy No.49 to the win.
Finishing behind Preisler and Gardner were Kellen Arnold III, Kevin Murphy, Matt Clemens and Kenny Richards. A field of 24 started the $2,000-to-win race.
Division track champion Breanna Riggins and Mike Peterson shared victory honors in twin 15-lap feature races for Sixers division competitors.
In his first race, 14-year-old Easton Grommes, an eighth grader from Plano, Ill., won the 15-lap Super Cup feature.
The finish:
Paul Shafer Jr., Casey Johnson, Penn Sauter, Levon VanDerGeest, Ricky Baker, D.J. Weltmeyer, Blake Brown, Mitch Haver, Justin Mondeik, Riley Stenjem, Max Kahler, Jayden Johnson, Eddie Hoffman, Anthony Danta, Stan Zolodz, Dylan Bates, Bryce Miller, Nick Egan, Jake Weinreich, Alex Weber, Tony Brutti, Adam Hebb, Scotty Tomasik, Vince Cooper, Rich Bickle Jr.
