After a several year absence from NASCAR racing, veteran Ohio racer Todd Shafer returns to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the Thunder Exhaust No. 08 for SS Green Light Racing Friday night at the Kansas Speedway.
Shafer is scheduled to run several races for the Bobby Dotter-led team during 2014 beginning with the SFP 250 under the lights in America’s heartland. Todd began racing at the age of eight and has raced in a wide variety of vehicles for nearly thirty years including micro-sprints, WoO Sprint Cars, asphalt late models, ARCA and both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His last start in the NCWTS came at Iowa in 2012 where he was the victim of another driver’s misfortune.
“I’ve been racing my whole life,” Shafer explained. “My priorities now are my family and my business but I still enjoy getting behind the wheel especially at mile and a half speedways. We are planning to run several races with SS Green Light Racing this summer.”
When he’s not at the track, Shafer is busy with his business; Thunder Exhaust which manufacturers low-profile NASCAR style exhaust tips for most any vehicle. He spends some of his time away from the shop with his eight-year old son Jonathan who is currently racing quarter-midgets around their native Ohio home. “He’s a better racer than me,” Shafer joked. “It amazing what a little coaching can do with these little guys.”
In June of 2001 Shafer was seriously injured in a wreck at Michigan International Raceway while competing in the ARCA series. Suffering severe injuries to his back and neck, it took months for Todd to recover before returning behind the wheel in July of 2002. Ironically, Shafer’s teammate this week at SS Green Light Racing, Jimmy Weller also suffered injuries to his back neck in a sprint car accident in 2004. One would have to look long and hard to find two racers with similar stories on the same track for the same team as Shafer and Weller this Friday night at Kansas.
“I’m pretty blessed to be able to walk again, let alone race again,” Shafer concluded. “Once racing get’s in your blood you just can’t help but to get back behind the wheel.”
The SFP 250 is the 316th consecutive NCWTS start for the SS Green Light Racing team, a streak that dates back to 2001. The race will prelude Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup 5-hour Energy 400 benefiting Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
SS Green Light Racing PR
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