Patrick Sheltra & Co. Happy With ARCA Daytona Test

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
December 18, 2007

“Team Shows Restrictor Plate Strength; Will Make Adjustments To Come Back Hoping For Thundering Applause”

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (December 18, 2007) - - Thundering applause. Those two words are what Whitesville, Kentucky-based Sheltra Motorsports is aiming for at the conclusion of the ARCA 200 at Daytona in February. This past weekend, Sheltra Motorsports joined over 60 racecars for a three-day test in preparation for the first of 21-events on the 2008 schedule officially kicking off the 56th season of competition for the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

After missing the ARCA 200 at Daytona in 2007, but showing improvement in the ARCA RE/MAX 250 at Talladega Superspeedway in October the team vowed to return back to the superspeedways stronger than ever and try to cork off their sophomore-season of competition with some success.

Sheltra, residing just two hours from Daytona International Speedway in the small town of Indiantown , Florida participated in all three days of testing and when the 21-year old climbed from his No. 60 on Sunday afternoon, smiles could be seen on the rookie turned amateur after posting some competitive times during the weekend.

Sheltra Motorsports led by team manger Keith Strunk and former ARCA driver now turned crew chief John Hayden brought two Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS hoping to test each machine extensively hoping to nail down which automobile would be the better option for the February 9, 2008 “Super Bowl” event for the ARCA RE/MAX Series. The first machine was a car recently purchased from Richard Childress Racing (RCR). The other was a former Hendrick Motorsports car that the team drafted to a positive 16th place run at Talladega Superspeedway in Sheltra’s restrictor plate debut on October 5th.

Unloading on Friday, the teams were greeted with a wet racetrack from showers from the night before. Having to sit around and wait is tough for any team but the Sheltra Motorsports bunch didn’t exactly mind as they were able to full prepare both cars from pre-season competition. When the green flag waived on Friday morning approaching 11:30am, Sheltra hoped in the Richard Childress Racing piece and would maneuver that machine for the entire day. His fastest lap came in the early afternoon in a single-car run after notching a time of 55.568 seconds at 177.978 which put the team a solid 14th on the board. Heading back to the hotel on Friday, Sheltra was pleased, very pleased.

“The new piece is a good one,” explained Sheltra, who will spend the 2008 season racing in ARCA, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and making additional appearances on the dirt. “The boys on the Sheltra Motorsports team really want to run good in Daytona and it just shows how on top of their game they are. I hope that we run as good in the draft.”

For the second straight day, the teams were halted from entering onto the track at 9:00am as rain once again soaked the 2.5-mile speedway. With the track dry close to noon, the team once again was one of the first in line to get busy. Switching from their RCR machine to their Talladega machine, the team was hoping to turn some good times. The fastest Sheltra was able to produce with the “green machine” was a 51.343 second lap equaling a speed of 175.292 MPH. The time put the Sheltra Motorsports team deep in the rundown, but the team wasn’t worried, they knew the car had a lot more.

“The second car works very well in the draft,” explained Sheltra. “We had a feeling that it would not turn quite a lap like the other car did, but the only thing we can do is work on it and prepare it as the back-up car for the race. At this point, I think we’ll use the Talladega machine as our backup.”

With changes complete, the team decided to prepare for drafting practice on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, the team would never be able to get a chance to experience that thrill rush as the transmission broke on the backstretch and the team also experienced a faulty rocker arm which forced the organization to withdrawal from the session and prepare for Sunday.

With the final day of testing be crucial for drafting, Sheltra and Co. would opt to switch motors from the “green machine” to their RCR entry while also installing a new transmission. Thankfully, heavy thunderstorms roared into DIS early Sunday morning postponing practice until 11:30am giving the team plenty of time to make the changes. Sheltra Motorsports would wait until official drafting practice started at 1:00pm to see where they stood.

Early on, Sheltra hooked up with fellow ARCA drivers Michael Faulk, Gabi DiCarlo and Bryan Silas and the group led a thundering charge around the Daytona Beach , Florida based speed plant with Sheltra posting the top-speed early on. After regrouping and making some changes, Sheltra would again attach himself with Faulk, Silas, and new additions Chase Austin (61A), Kyle Krisiloff and Tayler Malsam where Sheltra would clock his fastest time of the day at 49.729 seconds at 180.981 MPH netting the organization 10th overall on the drafting chart.

Happy with the outcome, the team would escape the draft and load-up two hours from the conclusion of the pre-season test. Sheltra would notch the second-fastest time of his drafting bunch with Malsam (ninth), Silas (11th), Faulk (13th), Austin (61A - 15th), DiCarlo (16th) and Krisiloff (17th) also notching impressive drafting times respectively.

“I’m happy where we landed in the overall draft session,” sounded Sheltra. “We still have some work to do though. The guys are going to take the cars back to the shop and work on them to get them even better for February. We are planning on testing Talladega in January, so no doubt the extra track time will help. It’s clear to say that our new piece from Richard Childress Racing will be our primary car. However, if we can massage the car enabling it to suck up a little better, we’re going to be very stout.”

He continued, “Michael Faulk, Bryan Silas, Gabi DiCarlo, Chase Austin, Kyle Krisiloff and Tayler Malsam all did an incredible job out there with me. Michael (Faulk) and I really hooked up and we drafted well together. I trust my competitors our there and it was great to get with that bunch and have some fun while still getting the job done.”

Sheltra concluded, “I want to thank all the guys for their hard work at the test and especially thank Scott Watson from Indiantown Marina for coming to the test and hanging out with us. It’s great to have his support of our race team and we’re looking forward to having him come back with us in February.”

Sheltra Motorsports marketing partners for last 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 FAST 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

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