Sheltra Ready For Short Track Brawl At Berlin Raceway |
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Topics: Patrick Sheltra, Request Foods-GFS 200
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Chris Knight/Steve Howell
Sheltra Motorsports
July 3, 2007
“Premiere Motorsports Rookie Looking For Second Top-10 Saturday”
MARNE, Michigan (July 3, 2007) - - Patrick Sheltra in his first full season of competition on the tough ARCA RE/MAX Series tour has maintained a quiet figure, but as the sanction heads towards Berlin Raceway, Sheltra would like to capture a career best finish under the lights Saturday night.
In the most recent ARCA event, Sheltra powered from his 24th place starting position to advance 10 positions to finish a strong 14th, or seventh among the full time ARCA RE/MAX Series teams.
The Michigan 200 was the perfect opportunity to put the Premiere Motorsports team back on the map and put Sheltra in contention for a strong second half.
“ Michigan was good,” said Sheltra. “We did exactly what we need to do. We gained from our starting spot, finished the race and gained some points, we don’t really have any room to complain. We would have liked to have left Michigan with a top-10 finish but we just got beat by teams with unlimited funds.”
Steering ahead to Berlin Raceway, Sheltra has never seen the .4-mile paved-oval but that scenario hasn’t hampered the Florida driver in the past and he’s hoping for the same situation this weekend at the Western Michigan track.
“I’ve never been to Berlin Raceway, but I’m anxious about getting there. Our short track program has been great this season. We’ve run strong at most of the short tracks this season even if the finishes haven’t shown it. The key to surviving Berlin Raceway or any short track for that matter is staying out of trouble and that’s what we plan to do on Saturday night.”
With his solid performance at Michigan International Speedway, Patrick Sheltra rose from 10th to ninth in the championship standings sitting 20 points ahead from 10th place competitor Jason Hedlesky. Sheltra trails eighth place competitor Justin Marks by 50 markers heading into the 12th race of the season.
Despite competing in only 10 of a possible 11 races this season, Sheltra is ahead of six fellow colleagues who have competed in all the event this season.
“It just goes to show you that every point is crucial in the ARCA RE/MAX Series,” explained Sheltra. “I think we’ve done a good job. We haven’t had the finishes we wanted on some occasions, but this is my first full year of competing on the tour and I’ve learned an awful lot. These races are tough. I’ll give you that. We just need to continue to give 150 percent every weekend and the rest should fall into place.”
When asked if he could win a race this season, Sheltra expressed, “Heck ya, I think we can still win this season. Some of the tracks that we competed in the first half, we’re going back to and I’m excited about that. My guys are good. They want to see me succeed and as a driver, you can’t ask for much more. Our No. 60 will be in contention for a win or two by season end. We even have a shot at the victory this weekend, I promise you that.”
Continuing their sponsorship of Sheltra’s No. 60 entry this weekend is CP Concrete Products, US Construction, SawHorse Outfitters, Brady Ranch and FloraGanics.
The Request Foods-GFS 200 (200 laps/88 miles) is the 12th of 23 events on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The 20th ARCA race held at Berlin Raceway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, July 7 with an hour and a half practice (2:30pm-4:00pm) session planned. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:00pm Local Time. The event will take the green flag later that night at 8:30pm Local Time. The race will not be televised. However, additional race coverage can be found online at arcaracing.com
For more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit PatrickSheltra.com
PATRICK SHELTRA MICHIGAN QUICK FACTS:
2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series Stats
Starts: 10
Best Start: Ninth at Kansas Speedway , April 2007
Top-Fives: None
Top-10s: One (Ninth at Kentucky Speedway )
Did Not Finish (DNFs): One ( Winchester Speedway )
Laps Led: None
Notes of Interest:
Sheltra sits fourth in the ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie-of-the-Year standings despite missing the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in February.
Berlin Raceway marks the sixth ever short track event for Patrick Sheltra. In his previous short track efforts this season, Sheltra has scored best finishes of 11th at USA International Speedway in March and Salem Speedway in April.
When not racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Sheltra can often be found at a local dirt track competing nationwide in his late model.
Sheltra is a native of Indiantown , Florida
Sheltra is a graduate of Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track High Performance Driving School .
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
NAME: Chris Knight, Premier Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: knight849@aol.com
NAME: Steve Howell, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 912.674.1000
EMAIL: sheltramotorsports@hotmail.com