Kansas Brings A Series Of Firsts For Patrick Sheltra

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Kansas Lottery $150 Grand

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
April 23, 2008

“Aaron’s Outdoors To Sport Logos On No. 60 Dodge Charger”

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS (April 23, 2008) – After recording their first top-10 finish of the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS) season last Saturday at Iowa Speedway, sophomore driver Patrick Sheltra and his Whitesville, Kentucky based team head to Kansas Speedway this weekend looking to keep the momentum going in Friday’s Kansas Lottery $150 Grand.

Additionally, Sheltra Motorsports looks to unveil their Chrysler program this week in spectacular fashion as the sophomore team will debut its Dodge Charger nameplate and the team’s new camouflage paint scheme.

“After Iowa , we are carrying some serious momentum,” said Sheltra, who will make his second career start at Kansas Speedway Friday. “I cannot begin to state how proud I am of the Sheltra Motorsports. We are off to a very solid start and we hope to keep it rockin’ Friday afternoon.”

The fourth installment on the ARCA RE/MAX Series steers the tour towards Kansas Speedway, a track that Sheltra has adapted to well. Last season in his first tango with the 1.5-mile speed plant, Sheltra claimed his career best qualifying effort of ninth before rallying to a satisfying 12th place finish.

This year, Sheltra returns to the Kansas City , Kansas facility with confidence and the intent to grab his first career ARCA victory.

“The mile-and-a-half tracks have suited me quite well,” sounded Sheltra. “I have my career best qualifying effort at Kansas and grabbed my first ever ARCA top-10 finish at the sister track Kentucky Speedway. In an effort to pick up our speedway program, we’re hailing Dodges with the hopes of keeping their winning tradition alive at Kansas Speedway.”

Speaking of winning traditions, Dodge secured the victory in last year’s Kansas Lottery $150 Grand and Sheltra sees recent testing and the power from RC Consultants under the hood of the No. 60 Dodge as a good sign of making it back-to-back victories for the Chrysler brand.

“We enter every ARCA event with the goal to win, but I have a really good feeling about Friday afternoon,” explained Sheltra, who sits sixth in ARCA championship points after three events. “Our team has seen the power of Dodge on the intermediate tracks. The opportunity was presented to us to take advantage of that success and we hope to be a part of a winning tradition this season.”

The eighth ARCA RE/MAX Series event at Kansas Speedway has proposed a lot of firsts for the Sheltra Motorsports team. A new manufacturer, a new engine program, a new paint scheme and even a new marketing partner.

Sheltra Motorsports is excited to welcome Aaron’s Outdoors on-board as the primary marketing partner for Friday’s Kansas Lottery $150 Grand.

Aaron’s Sales and Lease , America ’s premier name in retail furniture, partners with the Brannen Family to bring you Aaron’s Outdoors. Aaron’s Outdoors can be found on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) every Saturday morning at 8:30am for all hunting and fishing enthusiasts. This show brings you an up close and personal look at the South’s best game. Aaron’s Sales and Lease brings you the largest selection of brand new, brand name furniture, appliances, electronics and computers.

“We are thrilled with our new relationship with Aaron’s Outdoors,” said Sheltra, who has been self-promoting Aaron’s Outdoors with the camouflage cap the past two races. “It’s exciting that Aaron’s has a new program that involves the outdoors and the apparel they are sporting virtually matches our race car which attracts us like a magnet. We are excited about our new relationship with Aaron’s Outdoors and we hope to deliver them a good finish Friday.”

Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring a brand new ARCA Dodge chassis to Kansas Speedway this week. The team tested the former Penske Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series machine at Kansas earlier this month with very firm results. Hayden along with the team is confident in the changes they’ve made to their automobile will result in a jackpot.

“The test went pretty good, but we know that we’re coming back a lot stronger this weekend,” Sheltra added. “John has done a great job setting up the cars this year and the Sheltra Motorsports bunch hasn’t missed a beat this year. We’re all looking forward to continuing our strong start to the season Kansas style.”

Entering Kansas, Sheltra has 28 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with a career best finish of third on the dirt at Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2007) with an additional top-five finish (fourth) at Berlin Raceway (July 2007) while holding additional top-10s at Iowa Speedway (April 2008), Kentucky Speedway (June 2007), DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (September 2007) and Toledo Speedway (October 2007). Three ninth-place qualifying efforts at Kansas Speedway (April 2007), Pocono Raceway (June 2007) and Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2007) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date.

The Kansas Lottery $150 Grand (150 miles/100 laps) is the fourth of 21 events on the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The eighth ARCA race held at Kansas is a one-day show. Practice begins Friday, April 25 with a two hour and twenty minute practice session planned from 8:30-10:50 a.m. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is set slated to begin at 12:40 p.m. with the field taking the green flag shortly after 4:00 p.m. The race will be next day tape-delayed on SPEED (7:30 p.m. local) with additional race coverage online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

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

For additional information on Aaron’s Outdoors, please log onto Aaronsoutdoorstv.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 , Kansas Speedway Notes of Interest:

· Sheltra Motorsports will run a mixture of Dodge Chargers and Chevrolet Monte Carlos during the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series season. For Kansas , Sheltra Motorsports will run a Dodge Charger purchased from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team; Penske Racing. The team has never run this automobile in racing conditions but did test the machine in an open ARCA RE/MAX Series test at Kansas Speedway on April 4. RC Consultants will provide the horsepower for the sophomore ARCA team.

· Sheltra currently holds the highest points position (sixth) that he has ever held in his ARCA RE/MAX Series career. The Indiantown, Florida native is just 20 markers from entering the top-five. Last year, the 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, six hundred less turns than last Saturday afternoon at the .875-mile track of Iowa Speedway.

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 (No. 35) 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: Aaron’s Outdoors, Ferguson Pipe Enterprises, Inc, FloraGanics, American Concrete Industries, Inc, Hardie Pipe, The Casite Company, J&S Bulk Transportation, Inc., US Construction Supply Corp., Martin County Petroleum, Sheltra & Son Construction, Sheltra Cattle Company, Recycling Services, 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