Patrick Sheltra Eyeing Platinum Performance In Nashville

Patrick Sheltra Eyeing Platinum Performance In Nashville

Topics: Patrick Sheltra, Toyota ARCA 150

Patrick Sheltra Eyeing Platinum Performance In Nashville

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
August 7, 2008

LEBANON, Tennessee (August 7, 2008) - - With the ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS) making their annual trip to Nashville Superspeedway this weekend, sophomore driver Patrick Sheltra is ready to return top-10 status in Saturday’s TOYOTA ARCA 150.

The 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series season started off on a great note for the Whitesville, Kentucky-based team but over the course of the last month, the team has suffered issues beyond their control which has knocked the team from a strong seventh to ninth in the championship chase with the season slowly beginning to wind down.

Now fresh off their best run in a month last weekend at Pocono Raceway where Sheltra battled back from a flat tire, two speeding penalties, being a lap down and a faulty brake line to net a solid 12th place finish, the team is recharged and ready for the lone concrete battle of the year.

“We’re ready for a top-10 run,” said Sheltra, who spent this past week in Indiana with his Sheltra Motorsports dirt team. “It seems like it’s been forever, Michigan to be exact since we had a top-10 finish and that’s too long. We’ve been too good but the racing gods haven’t been on our side as far as luck. Hopefully, Nashville will be good to us.”

The Indiantown, Florida native has two prior starts at the 1.33-mile speedway with the summer event last season awarding the 22-year old with his best result of 13th. Sheltra’s Nashville qualifying efforts have been solid with an average start of 13th.

“ Nashville is really a driver’s race track. You have to keep focused, 100 percent. You also have to pay attention because things happen in a hurry there. The competition was pretty competitive last August and the way this season has been, I expect it to be more intense this weekend. We’re ready for it because we have a strong car and an even stronger team than last year, so I think we can put ourselves in contention Saturday afternoon.”

For the seventh time this season, Sheltra and his Whitesville, Kentucky based Sheltra Motorsports operation will bring a Dodge Charger to the track. With three top-10s already in the books under the Dodge banner, the team is hoping to record their first top-five under the Chrysler nameplate. The team answered their inaugural debut with Dodge with a respectable eighth place finish at Kansas Speedway. A week later the team proved that the finish was no fluke as Sheltra steered through late race carnage and confusion at Kentucky Speedway to record an seventh place finish. In June, Sheltra mounted his best finish in a Charger after recording a sixth place finish at the two-mile oval of Michigan International Speedway. The new manufacturer also catapulted Sheltra to record a career best qualifying effort ( Kansas ) while also leading the field for four laps at the 1.5-mile race track of Kansas Speedway.

“This is the second of at least five consecutive races we’ll be running a Dodge,” sounded Sheltra. “We ran a Dodge last weekend, now here and then off to the two dirt races and Chicagoland Speedway. We should be fast at all of them. Statically, Dodge took five of the top-12 positions last August at Nashville including the runner-up position, so hopefully history repeats itself with a Dodge being up front in the music city.”

Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring Sheltra Motorsports chassis number 11 to Nashville Superspeedway this weekend. This is the same automobile the team participated with in both Pocono Raceway events this year. Chassis number 15 will serve as the team’s backup automobile. The team ran that model at the open ARCA RE/MAX Series test at Nashville Superspeedway in addition to the test and race at Michigan International Speedway in June.

Sheltra Motorsports opted to participate in the seventh open-test session of the year at Nashville Superspeedway last month but the team wasn’t exactly pleased with the results. “We were okay. We weren’t bad, but we weren’t great either,” continued Sheltra. “That is what tests are for though, to get better. However, after our performance last weekend at Pocono Raceway we felt it was in the best interest of the team and our marketing partners to bring that car to Nashville this weekend and the one we tested with will serve as the backup. We need to win and we believe this car can help us conquer that feat.”

The never-give up attitude last weekend at Pocono Raceway propelled Sheltra to ninth in the championship standings with the top-five still within reach with just eight races remaining in 2008.

“We went up and that’s positive,” said Sheltra. “Last year we finished seventh even after missing the season opener and this year, you would be sitting at least seven positions back from that in 14th. That just goes to show you how much more competitive the ARCA RE/MAX Series has been this year. We’re still gunning towards a top-five championship finish and with a little luck and some strong finishes we’ll be able to conquer our goal.”

Entering Nashville, Sheltra has 38 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with a career best finish of second at Toledo Speedway (May 2008) with two additional top-five finishes (third) at Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2007), (fourth) at Berlin Raceway (July 2007) while holding additional top-10s at 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). An eighth place qualifying effort at Kansas Speedway (April 2008) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date. He has controlled the ARCA field twice for 15 laps.

The TOYOTA ARCA 150 (150 miles/113 laps) is the 14th of 21 events on the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The 15th ARCA event held at Nashville Superspeedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, August 8 with a three hour practice session planned from 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. the following morning. The field will take the green flag on Saturday, August 9 shortly after 3:30 p.m. The event will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring available online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

For more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit the newly re-launched 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 NASCAR. 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 .

Patrick Sheltra, Sheltra Motorsports, Nashville Superspeedway

Notes of Interest:

· Sheltra Motorsports will run a mixture of Dodge Chargers and Chevrolet Monte Carlos Chevrolet during the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series season. For Nashville , Sheltra Motorsports will run a Dodge Charger that will make its third career ARCA start this weekend. The team competed with this same automobile in the most recent ARCA event at Pocono Raceway last weekend. It also made laps in the Pocono 200 at Pocono Raceway in June. The piece was acquired from Penske Racing during the off-season. The car was previously driven by 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman. RC Consultants will provide the horsepower for the sophomore ARCA team.

· Sheltra currently maintains a point’s position in the top-10 (ninth) heading into Nashville Superspeedway this weekend. Sheltra moved into the top-10 in the series’ second race of the season at Salem Speedway and has remained locked in the top-10 since. The Indiantown, Florida native is just 410 markers from entering the top-five and 630 credits from the number one position held by SunTrust Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Scott Speed. Last year, the then 21-year old superstar finished seventh in the championship standings competing in 22 of the scheduled 23 events.

· Sheltra will make 452 left hand turns on Saturday afternoon, one hundred and thirty two (132) less turns than the series last outing, the Pennsylvania 200 at the 2.5 triangle track of Pocono Raceway last Saturday.

In addition to running a full 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, Sheltra will also run a limited schedule in NASCAR and compete in selected dirt late model events (UMP and WoO Series) throughout the United States .

Sheltra Motorsports Quick Facts:

Team Name: Sheltra Motorsports, No. 60 Dodge Charger

Driver: Patrick Sheltra, Indiantown , Florida

Car Owner: Grace Sheltra, Indiantown , Florida

Marketing Partners: Groupe Beton Brunet, Ferguson Pipe Enterprises, Inc, FloraGanics, American Concrete Industries, Inc, The Casite Company, J&S Bulk Transportation, Inc., US Construction Supply Corp., CP Concrete Products of the Palm Beaches, Martin County Petroleum, Sheltra & Son Construction, Sheltra Cattle Company, Recycling Services, Aaron’s Outdoors, Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant, Indiantown Marina, All About Flowers, Speed Media, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, DMC Graphics and Purcell Tire & Rubber.

Crew Chief: John Hayden

Team Manager: Keith Strunk

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TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 830.261.1215
EMAIL: knight849@aol.com