Dirt
Fast and ‘ Furious ’
Chris Shaffer wins first Pro Stick Racing championship in group ’ s 25th season By Todd Dziadosz
Chris Shaffer took his 1966 Plymouth Fury , dubbed the S . S . Furious , to the 2020 Pro Stick Racing season championship . Many years of racing with Pro Stick saw Shaffer get close to the title , earning several second and third placings in the season-long standings , but he was not able to attain the ultimate goal until 2020 . Late in the season , Shaffer was able to boost his points total with a runner-up at the September Beaver Springs race , and then at the season finale at East Side Speedway , he powered through the 42-car field with a win .
The final weekend of racing at East Side Speedway – two races in two days – there were four drivers in contention for the crown . Reigning champion Gregg Corbin , 5-time champ and founding member Eric Kitchen , 2012 champ Mark Charcalla , and Shaffer . During the lone time trial of Race 2 , Shaffer scored the RAM Clutches reaction time award with a . 003 light , besting fellow Mopar driver Tim Riggleman ’ s . 004 bulb .
As the rounds went on , Shaffer kept treeing his opponents , including Charcalla in round 4 . The
win over Charcalla sent Shaffer to a bye run in the semis . His final-round opponent was Tommy Lumley in his four-door Nova . Once again Shaffer won at the tree , an . 026 light to Lumley ’ s . 032 . At the finish line , Lumley broke out by 8 thousandths of a second and turned on the win light in Shaffer ’ s lane . His 6.03 dial-in stayed on the window all day , as his reaction times were the difference in every race . Leaving Virginia , Shaffer said “ I wasn ’ t sure I earned the title , since I don ’ t keep track of points .” Finally , he received a call mid-week confirming the fact that he was , indeed , the champ .
The powerplant in Shaffer ’ s Fury is a 505-cubic-inch Mopar assembled by himself and close friend Matt Bergenstock . The transmission is a GF 2000 from G-Force Transmissions . Looking forward to the 2021 season , a set of 40 spline
PHOTOS : TODD DZIADOSZ
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