Shultz still driving strong

Jason Shultz, a former Late Model frontrunner at Old Dominion Speedway, is battling for the point's championship in the ISCARS Dash Touring series.

The 20-year-old Manassas driver is second in points after winning his first race October third at Lonesome Pine.

"It's exciting to be in a position to win a championship," said Shultz, who was third in Late Model points at ODS in 2007.  "Racing in Dash is one of the most fun times I've had in a race car."

Shultz is 29 points behind points leader Eric Gerchak, with four races left.  Shultz will race twin 80-lappers at Orange County Speedway Saturday in hopes of improving his standing.  He also has twin races at Hickory in November.

Shultz's win at Lonesome Pine was his first in a stock car.  He'd come close a number of times, both in Dash and at ODS.  But bad luck kept him out of victory lane.

At Lonesome Pine, Shultz's car wasn't running well in practice.  But his team adjusted the car, and Shultz won the pole.  The car was still a bit off and the crew adjusted it again for the feature.  Shultz then led every lap.

"It was such a good feeling to finally get to victory lane," said Shultz, who is grateful to team leader Vince Langan, his parents and his crew.  "It just felt good to get that monkey off our backs and get that first win out of the way."

Shultz's biggest challenge has been keeping his equipment together.  At Dillon Motor Speedway in June, he was running strong when his engine threw a rod and he finished 11th.  Shultz wasn't able to run the second twin.

In the June race at Lonesome Pine, he had brake problems but still finished third.  In October's race at Lonesome Pine, his push rods broke and he had to run Robert Tighe's car in the second race, finishing sixth.

"That night was an emotional roller coaster," Shultz said.  "The car was hooked up good.  But it didn't sound well at the end of the first race, but we were able to hold them off."

Before running at ODS for a season, Shultz raced in the Allison Legacy series and notched five top fives.  He noted that the series was a good transitional step from go-karts and it prepared him to race Late Models the next year.

"The Legacy series wasn't too big of a jump after go-karts but just enough to where I could learn and move on," he said.

The Legacy series also gave him experience at Lonesome Pine, Orange County and Hickory—tracks where he races the Dash series.

"Just going to a track and knowing that I've seen it before has been very helpful," Shultz said.  "At Lonesome Pine, that was a big key.  I just jumped in the car and felt comfortable because I knew what line to drive and the feel of the track."

Shultz's qualifying has been good since he started the Dash series as well.  A year ago, he qualified on the outside pole at Hickory.  He's had two poles this season, and another at Orange County, before that race was rained out.

He's looking forward to returning to both tracks to help his chances for the championship.