Venturini Motorsports (VMS) announced today the signing of 16-year-old driver Jonathan Shafer to a five-race ARCA Menards Series schedule in 2022.
Shafer will get his first taste at the next level when he joins VMS for ARCA Menards Series races at Iowa Speedway (June 11), Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 29), Bristol Motor Speedway (Sept. 15) and Salem Speedway (Oct. 1). He also will run the ARCA Menards Series East race at Dover Motor Speedway (April 29).
“This is such a great moment in my career,” said Shafer, the Ashland, Ohio, native. “A lot of hard work has gotten me to this point I can’t thank Venturini Motorsports and Toyota enough for giving me this opportunity.
“I’m excited to have this chance and continue to develop as a driver. Knowing I’ll be running great equipment with a team as good as gives me a lot of confidence going into my first start at Iowa.”
Following the typical path nowadays, Shafer began driving quarter midgets at age 5 and has methodically moved his way up the speed ranks with age. With nearly 300 feature wins along the way, the high school junior has concentrated on a heavy dose of midget racing and late models in recent years.
Along with running with Toyota’s Keith Kunz Motorsports, Shafer has spent the last three seasons in the JEGS CRA Series and CARS Tour.
“I’ve gained a lot of great experience with Keith (Kunz) and his midget program along with Lee Pulliam in the CARS Tour,” Shafer said. “The last couple of years racing late models have been an important stepping stone to get me where I am today. I’m focused on continuing to get better and go out this year and do the best I can.”
Follow Shafer on Twitter (@JShaferRacing), Instagram (@JonathanShaferRacing) and Facebook (@JonathanShaferRacing).
Venturini Motorsports PR
