Patrick Sheltra Anxious For Daytona ARCA Test

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
December 12, 2007

“With Full Schedule On Tap For ’08; Floridian Ready For Pre-Season Testing”

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (December 12, 2007) - - With the ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS) Championship Banquet in the books, it’s back to business for sophomore bound driver Patrick Sheltra and his Sheltra Motorsports team as they’ll head to the Sunshine State to participate in this weekend’s pre-season testing at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the 2008 season opener in February.

Just recently announcing a full 2008 ARCA campaign and a slew of new marketing partners, the team enters the 2.5-mile superspeedway with a head of steam anticipating a solid three-day test hoping to leave the team itching for a fantastic start to the team’s second year of competition kicking off with the ARCA 200 at Daytona, the first of 21 events on the 56th season of existence for ARCA on Saturday, February 9, 2008.

“Daytona, not much you can say about it. The name says it all,” said Patrick Sheltra, who drives the No. 60 in ARCA competition. “The ARCA 200 at Daytona is the “Super Bowl” of the ARCA RE/MAX Series and everyone wants to win the event, so we have to utilize the test to be on our game and come back looking to master the competition.”

The Whitesville, Kentucky-based Sheltra Motorsports is led by former ARCA champion crew chief Keith Strunk with former ARCA and NASCAR driver John Hayden calling the shots for the 21-year old rising star. The duo along with their dedicated Sheltra Motorsports gang have been preparing two Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and will test both machines during the final test session of the year. Sheltra knows that having Strunk and Hayden on his side is bad news for his peers.

The team will bring back the same Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS that Sheltra invaded with at Talladega Superspeedway in October where the then-rookie qualified 27th before thundering into the top-15 pack all day before settling for a 16th place effort. The team will also test a new machine recently added to their stable purchased from Richard Childress Racing.

“We have two really good pieces,” explained Sheltra, who finished seventh in his first year of ARCA competition. “The reason of bringing two cars to Daytona this weekend is for us to really figure out which will be the best primary and the perfect backup to fully prepare us for February. Testing is always intense and this weekend will be no different, but we’re gunning for a championship in 2008, so we have to make sure that we’re not leaving anything on the table. Clements Automotive has always provided us with excellent horsepower and I know when we return to Daytona in two months we’ll even have a better package than what we have this weekend.”

If Sheltra could have changed one figure from his 2007 season it would have been adding his name to the starting lineup for this year’s season opener, but unfortunately the team was knocked from the starting grid, forcing the Sheltra Motorsports team to play catch-up the entire year. The team performed brilliantly rising into the top-10 just half-way into the season. Being guaranteed a spot in the 2008 opener, Sheltra isn’t worried about where he starts, but he knows that having an automobile that is capable of running with the pack is crucial to kick off the season on the right foot.

Sounded Sheltra, “Daytona and Talladega are two very different races from anything else we run on the schedule and total concentration must set in place for those races. Included in the concentration is making sure the car is as low to the ground as possible and is able to pull out and draft and be able to suck up to a car and draft. We’ll have single-car and drafting runs this weekend and that will be important. A lot is on the line when we come to these races and believe we’re going to take every opportunity we can get. Sheltra Motorsports missed Daytona in 2007, but we are going to do everything imaginably possible to conquer “The World Center of Speed” in 2008.”

Sheltra Motorsports marketing partners for this weekend’s activities include Ferguson Pipe Enterprises, Inc, American Concrete Industries, Inc, Hardie Pipe, Indiantown Marina, Drug Discovery Testing (DDT), All About Flowers, Speed Media, Casite Products SawHorse Outfitters, J&S Bulk Transportation, Inc., Martin County Petroleum and FloraGanics.

Stay tuned for a revamped website, but in the meantime for more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit PatrickSheltra.com.

Sheltra Motorsports Quick Facts:

Team Name: Sheltra Motorsports, No. 60 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS

Driver: Patrick Sheltra, Indiantown , Florida

Car Owner: Grace Sheltra, Indiantown , Florida

Marketing Partners: Ferguson Pipe Enterprises, Inc, American Concrete Industries, Inc, Hardie Pipe, Indiantown Marina, Drug Discovery Testing (DDT), All About Flowers, Speed Media, Casite Products SawHorse Outfitters, J&S Bulk Transportation, Inc., Martin County Petroleum and FloraGanics.

Crew Chief: John Hayden

Team Manager: Keith Strunk

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MEDIA CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: Knight849@aol.com