The Crittenden Automotive Library

Patrick Sheltra Hungry For Top Run At Michigan

Topics: Patrick Sheltra, Racing for Wildlife 200

Patrick Sheltra Hungry For Top Run At Michigan

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
June 10, 2008

“Sheltra Motorsports Hoping To Shine In Motor City”

BROOKLYN, Michigan (June 10, 2008) - - Sophomore ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Patrick Sheltra heads to Michigan International Speedway this week looking to recover from a disappointing finish in last Saturday’s Pocono ARCA 200 and put himself and his Sheltra Motorsports team back in contention for the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series championship.

Sheltra looks for his second top-five finish of the season at Michigan International Speedway, a speedway that’s been known to spawn first-time winners. Sheltra is hoping when the checkered flag flies in Friday’s Racing for Wildlife 200, his No. 60 Dodge Charger is the one heading to victory lane.

“Pocono is behind us, so I’m eager for Michigan,” said Sheltra, who will make his third career ARCA start at the two-mile oval. “We’re back with a Dodge Charger and armed with a fresh RC Consultants engine and we’re ready to be in contention for the win Friday afternoon.”

The monstrous Michigan International Speedway has provided great racing and great finishes for teams and fans in the past. The Indiantown, Florida native doesn’t see a change in race number nine Friday.

“Michigan is a fun place to race,” sounded Sheltra. “It’s a track with a lot of room and plenty of racing. You can go three, four and even five wide at Michigan and that’s exciting! Of course racing like that comes with its territories. You have to have a strong car and a strong motor. We’re confident in the car we’re bringing and we know that the engine failure we suffered at Pocono is in the past and we don’t anticipate having it happen again.”

Sheltra Motorsports joined a plethora of other ARCA RE/MAX Series teams last month for a open test at the Brooklyn, Michigan race course and the team was confident following the session.

“The Michigan test went pretty good,” Sheltra said. “We brought a new Dodge Charger to the track and it adapted very well. Our main objective with the car was to shake it down and make sure that we didn’t face any major obstacles when we returned for race week. We’ve made some aggressive changes that I think will pay off for us.”

Friday’s event also marks the home of one of Sheltra Motorsports marketing partners, The Casite Company. The Casite Company joined Sheltra Motorsports in January 2008. “It’s very cool to have a company like The Casite Company this close to the race track. I tell you what; their products at The Casite Company are the best on the market. We use them fluently at the shop and the track and we would not consider using anyone else. I want to thank The Casite Company for all they’ve done for me and Sheltra Motorsports and we hope that we can deliver them a victory in their own back yard Friday afternoon.”

Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring Sheltra Motorsports chassis number 11 to Michigan International Speedway this weekend. The only time the automobile has seen the track was during the open ARCA RE/MAX Series test at MIS in May. Chassis number 15 will serve as the team’s back-up automobile. This is the same piece that the Whitesville, Kentucky based team competed with at Pocono Raceway last weekend.

Sheltra added, “Our Dodges have been a great addition to our team. We’ve been strong with all of them. We’ve ran in the top-10 with all of them. I don’t expect any different on Friday afternoon. We acquired this piece from Penske Racing, so we’re hoping that we can stroll into victory lane on a same weekend where Penske Racing is in attendance.”

With finishes of 33rd and 14th at Michigan International Speedway in the past two years, the avid race car driver knows an exceptional run will help him climb the point’s ladder and recover from the point’s blow the team suffered following their finish at Pocono Raceway last weekend. Currently, Sheltra is 315 points from the top-spot and only 155 markers from the top-five currently locked by Frank Kimmel.

“We have to get back on track. We lost a lot of points last weekend at Pocono Raceway,” Sheltra commented. “We cannot afford something to go wrong this weekend, we’re trying to win a championship and we can’t afford to have any more misfortunate like we had at Pocono. The points are just too tight. We have to put ourselves back in the top-10 Friday.”

Entering Michigan, Sheltra has 33 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 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 once for four laps.

The Racing for Wildlife 200 (200 miles/100 laps) is the ninth of 21 events on the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The trip to the Irish Hills track is a two-day show. Practice begins Thursday, June 12th with a two hour practice session planned from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The field will take the green flag on Friday, July 13th shortly after 5:00 p.m. The race will air live on SPEED beginning at 5:00 p.m. Additional race coverage including live timing and scoring will be 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 21-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 Craftsman Truck Series (No. 35). 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, Michigan International Speedway

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 Michigan, Sheltra Motorsports will run a Dodge Charger that will make its ARCA RE/MAX Series debut this week. The car 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 Michigan International Speedway this week. 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 155 markers from entering the top-five and 315 credits from the number one position held by SunTrust Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 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 400 left hand turns on Friday afternoon, eighty (80) more turns than the series last outing, the Pocono ARCA 200 at the 2.5-mile 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 the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 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: Ferguson Pipe Enterprises, Inc, FloraGanics, American Concrete Industries, Inc, Hardie Pipe, The Casite Company, C.J. Rayburn Race Cars, J&S Bulk Transportation, Inc., US Construction Supply Corp., Martin County Petroleum, Sheltra & Son Construction, Sheltra Cattle Company, Recycling Services, Aaron’s Outdoors, Indiantown Marina, All About Flowers, Speed Media, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, DMC Graphics and Purcell Tire & Rubber.

Crew Chief: John Hayden

Team Manager: Keith Strunk

###

TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:

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