Patrick Sheltra Racing For A Win At Michigan

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Racing for Wildlife 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
June 9, 2009

“Mr. Showtime To Debut In No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings TOYOTA Camry”

BROOKLYN, Michigan (June 9, 2009) - - It’s been a busy week for ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS) veteran driver Patrick Sheltra and the hectic schedule won’t slow down as Sheltra heads to Michigan International Speedway (MIS) this week looking for his second win of the season in Friday’s Racing for Wildlife 200.

Sheltra is anxious for Friday’s race after notching a third place finish at Pocono Raceway last Saturday. The run put Sheltra back on the radar screen and boosted the team’s confidence leaning into the eighth race of the season.

This race however will be a little different for the Sheltra Motorsports gang. For the first race weekend of the year, the team will unload a TOYOTA Camry as their manufacturer of choice. The team tested this automobile at the open ARCA RE/MAX Series test at MIS last month. The results have the team extremely optimistic for Friday’s race.

“We’re approaching the race very optimistic this week,” said Sheltra. “This is the first time that we will be running a race with a TOYOTA and we’re hoping that it will show the same dynamic effect that it has in the ARCA RE/MAX Series this year.”

Germain Racing, a part-time competitor in the ARCA RE/MAX Series is guiding the veteran Whitesville, Kentucky based team with their TOYOTA program. Their ARCA crew chief Mike Abner will consult with Sheltra’s team and be on hand to hopefully guide the team back to victory lane.

“We really appreciate everything that Germain Racing has done to help speed our TOYOTA program along,” continued Sheltra. “We’re hoping for a good race for Buffalo Wings & Rings and it sure would be nice to get a speedway win under my belt.”

Sheltra has maneuvered himself back into the top-five in the point standings and is hoping to continue his climb back towards the top in the Irish Hills.

“Moving up is always good,” Sheltra joked. “I don’t know. I’ve said I wasn’t going to worry about points, but I am. I cannot control everything that happens on the track but I’m going to race smart on Friday and look to battle back in the top four and see if we can make some ground up on the leaders.”

The 23-year old phenom will make his fourth start at the two-mile oval and Sheltra admits that Michigan is a race that goes by quickly and forces you to be on top of your game.

“MIS is a great place to race. It can get boring sometimes but the place has a lot of room to race and horsepower is definitely key there,” offered Sheltra who finished sixth in last year’s Racing for Wildlife 200. “Fuel mileage can also come into play, so you have to account for every drop of gas. The race can get real interesting, that’s a promise.”

Exiting Michigan, Sheltra has 53 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway (April 2009). Sheltra also holds second place efforts at Rockingham Speedway (April 2009), Toledo Speedway (May 2008) and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (September 2008) with five additional top-five finishes, (third) at Pocono Raceway (June 2009), (fourth) at Toledo Speedway (October 2008), (fifth) at Talladega Superspeedway (October 2008), (third) at Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2007) and (fourth) at Berlin Raceway (July 2007) while holding additional top-10s at Kentucky Speedway (May 2009), Nashville Superspeedway (August 2008), Michigan International Speedway (June 2008), Kentucky Speedway (May 2008), Kansas Speedway (April 2008), Iowa Speedway (April 2008), Kentucky Speedway (June 2007), DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (September 2007) and Toledo Speedway (October 2007). A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham Speedway (April 2009) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date. He has controlled the ARCA field five times for 109 laps.

The Racing for Wildlife 200 (100 laps / 200 miles) is the eighth of 21 events on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The 28th ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Thursday, June 11 with a two hour practice session planned from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is set for later in the day slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Friday, June 12 shortly after 5:15 p.m. The event will live on SPEED. The race will also be broadcasted live through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

For more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit PatrickSheltra.com.

For additional input on Buffalo Wings & Rings, please connect to Buffalowingsandrings.com or call 513.831.WING.

About Sheltra Motorsports:

Sheltra Motorsports (sheltramotorsports.com) is a three-tier Motorsports operation consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 23-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 .

About Buffalo Wings & Rings:

Buffalo Wings & Rings is the fastest-growing privately owned franchised chain of restaurants in the nation serving Buffalo-style chicken wings, onion rings, burgers, chicken and salads. Founded in 1988 in Cincinnati, OH, Buffalo Wings & Rings operates 44 franchised restaurants in the United States. Buffalo Wings & Rings was ranked the #1 fastest growing restaurant chain nationwide in the July 2008 issue of Restaurant Business, and ranked in the top 500 franchises in the January 2009 issue of Entrepreneur. For more information, visit www.buffalowingsandrings.com or call 513-831-WING.

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TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 239.214.1083
EMAIL: chris@patricksheltra.com