Mother Nature Stalls Patrick Sheltra’s On-Track Return At The Rock |
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Topics: Patrick Sheltra
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Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
March 14, 2009
ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina (March 14, 2009) - - A steady stream of mist and rain postponed Saturday’s open ARCA RE/MAX Series test at Rockingham Speedway which also stalled veteran driver Patrick Sheltra’s return to seat after being involved in a vicious incident in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway last month.
Feeling good, Sheltra arrived at the legendary one-mile oval early Saturday morning ready to climb into his No. 60 Ferguson Pipe-ThePeoplesCars.com Dodge Charger but a strong ban of rain forced about a dozen teams to postpone their on-track activity.
ARCA RE/MAX Series officials have rescheduled the open-test for Sunday, but the weather forecast is iffy at best forcing many teams to come up with a back-up plan should a second day of testing be washed out.
For the Whitesville, Kentucky based Sheltra Motorsports, the team emerged as a leader of the pack and could host a private test on Monday, March 16 should Mother Nature continue to drench the Rockingham, North Carolina track tomorrow. Future forecasts show Monday, the better of the three days.
“I was so ready to get back in the gas,” said Sheltra, who made his Rockingham Speedway debut last year. “I climbed into the car Saturday morning and I’ll admit it was a good feeling. The guys have worked their tails off at the shop to prepare this car for the test, so I’m hoping we’ll get some seat time with it in the next couple of days.”
The Indiantown, Florida native added, “I’ve been a preacher that the ARCA RE/MAX Series races at Rockingham are crucial for the point’s championship. We have two races here this year not just one; so to be on top of your game at “The Rock” is pivotal to the long term picture.” The 22-year old driver continued, “We cannot justify making the effort to get to Rockingham and not test. We’ll use our heads and stay here until at least Monday and hope we can get some track time. If not, we’ll reevaluate and go from there.”
Despite his harrowing incident in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona, Sheltra still sits 14th in the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship standings, just 20 markers from ninth place. Last year, Sheltra finished a career high sixth place in the standings rallying from 10th in the final races of the year.
“Daytona is behind us,” offered Sheltra. “Many will never be able to forget what happened there, but in order to move forward and eye the championship; we have to put what happened there in the rear view mirror and look towards winning races and winning a championship.”
For more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit PatrickSheltra.com.
About Sheltra Motorsports:
Sheltra Motorsports (sheltramotorsports.com) is a three-tier Motorsports operation consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 22-year old native of Indiantown , Florida competes in the UMP and WoO (Dirt) Series; while also running a full schedule in the ARCA RE/MAX Series (No. 60) and a limited schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Sheltra Motorsports ownership is combined of Richard, Grace and Patrick Sheltra. The team is headquartered in Indiantown , Florida with additional operations in Richmond , Indiana and Whitesville , Kentucky .
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TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 239.214.1083
EMAIL: chris@patricksheltra.com