Tim Shaffer began the Knoxville Nationals in style claiming, his first 360 win at the track on night one of the 10-day event. Shaffer won his heat after starting in third to claim.

Shaffer was elated in Victory Lane and talked about the importance of tuning the car to fit the track and how his crew chief Cody Jacobs made his win possible.

"It's awesome," said Shaffer, "It's about learning each other, learning the track, and doing the right things. We're here to get seat time. I've been here a lot, but you're always learning. Cody Jacobs gave me one heck of a race car tonight. At the end of the day, you have to put yourself in position for Saturday. We're here to have a good time and race."

Shaffer ran the 360 Nationals simply because he could. The driver of the 49x car is running his own schedule instead of competing full time with the All-Star Circuit of Champions like he has in years past, because of this the team gets to go where they want, when they want. Giving the team the flexibility to hunt down wins and compete against the Outlaws, All Stars, or the Pennsylvania Posse any given weekend.

"I really like it." Shaffer said about choosing his own schedule, "It's one of those things that gets the team more prepared to go to races and puts us in the position to win races. To not have a grueling schedule we can take the weekend off and do other things."

Running full time has brought Shaffer success in the pass, claiming the ASCoC championship four years in a row from 2008 to 2012.  This year while running a limited schedule in that series, he's still holding on to 11th in the points.

During the 410 Nationals first night, Shaffer was the last car to transfer into the A from the B-Main and had to start at the back of the pack. In the span of the 25-lap race, Shaffer made his way from 24th to 12th to claim the Hard Charger title.

"We got behind the eight ball a little bit," Shaffer said. "We qualified decent, struggled in the heat race, missed it by a little bit, the car was a little tight. We were pretty dominant in the B Main. Passed on the last lap [for the final transfer spot] and made it into the A, we passed some cars started moving forward passed 12 cars."

At tracks like Knoxville drivers have to be ready to change everything because if you're off, you're way off. Shaffer's and crew did exactly that to make headway into the A.

"Changed a few things on the car a little bit in set-ups. If you get off a little bit in this race it's huge. Shaffer said. "It's about the timing of doing the right things at the right time. You never stick with one setup you got to change your car and the track changes, we have to be on our game and do the right things as a team."

Now that Knoxville has come to an official end, Shaffer and the 49x sprint will be back in his home state of Pennsylvania for a ASCoC swing through the Keystone State. It's no secret that Knoxville Nationals holds a special place for drivers especially those who have won it in the past like Shaffer did in 2010.

"Knoxville is a unique place, you have a lot of great racing fans and a lot of great people that you meet here. Everyone becomes quick friends, and great friends. The atmosphere is amazing everyone is having a good time, everyone is having fun. That very key for race teams and fans.

Knoxville Nationals Coverage

Jason Sides' Roller Coaster Has A Few Peaks Remaining 
Dominic Scelzi Is More Comfortable In 410s Than 360s, And It Shows On Track 
Greg Hodnett And Shaffer Post Consecutive Knoxville Nationals Wins For The Posse 
Carnage Gives Way To Finesse In The Knoxville 360 Nationals For Tim Shaffer 
Josh Baughman Knows Knoxville Wins Equal Immediate Prestige 
Fearless Harli White Tackles Both The 360 And 410 Knoxville Nationals 
Danny Lasoski Aims For A Knoxville Victory When It Matters Most 
Seth Bergman Tunes Up For Knoxville Nationals By Passing 18 Cars In 2 Races