Patrick Sheltra Posts Top-Five Practice Effort In Rockingham

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Carolina 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
April 18, 2009

ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina (April 18, 2009) - - Back to work after notching his first career victory in the ARCA RE/MAX Series two weeks ago at Salem Speedway, Patrick Sheltra backed up his momentum with an impressive top-five practice effort Saturday in preparation for tomorrow’s ARCA RE/MAX Carolina 200 at Rockingham Speedway.

Sheltra, in his No. 60 BuckedUpShirts.com / BuckedUpApparel.com Dodge Charger for car owner Grace Sheltra maneuvered his green and camouflage entry around the one-mile track in a time of 25.083 seconds transferring to a speed of 143.524 miles per hour. The effort was fifth quickest overall.

Last year, Sheltra posted the 21st fastest practice time gearing up for his inaugural Rockingham Speedway debut. With the same car and new manufacturer, Sheltra is proving that 2009 may in fact be his year.

“The BuckedUp car is real good this weekend at Rockingham,” said Sheltra, who sits third in ARCA RE/MAX Series championship points entering tomorrow’s event. “We unloaded quick and stayed in the top-five for the entire practice. That’s a great accomplishment, especially here at the Rock.”

Sheltra did however feel he left some on the table during his mock qualifying run.

“We got BuckedUp on our qualifying run, plain and simple. I was trying to pass a car and I drove the car in too deep, so we weren’t able to improve on our time, but the car is fast and I’m ready for my first ARCA pole this afternoon.”

Sheltra is utilizing the third race of the 2009 season to boast a new marketing partner, one that definitely fits his foray. Earlier this week, Sheltra Motorsports announced that BuckedUp, Inc. would be teaming up with the most recent ARCA winning team for Sunday’s race.

“We’re very excited about having BuckedUp on board this weekend here at Rockingham,” sounded Sheltra. “Both John and Nick are here this weekend and we would love to take them to victory lane ARCA style Sunday afternoon. If it happens were going to get BuckedUp for sure!”

Entering Rockingham, Sheltra has 48 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway (April 2009). Sheltra also holds second place efforts at Toledo Speedway (May 2008) and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (September 2008) with four additional top-five finishes, (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 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 fourth place qualifying effort at Salem Speedway (April 2009) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date. He has controlled the ARCA field four times for 101 laps.

In addition to running a full ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule this year, Sheltra will also run a limited dirt schedule and also plans to run selected NASCAR Nationwide Series events with his Whitesville, Kentucky based Sheltra Motorsports team.

The ARCA RE/MAX Carolina 200 (200 laps / 200 miles) is the third of 22 events on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The third ever ARCA race at Rockingham Speedway is a two-day show. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is set for later in the day slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Sunday, April 19 shortly after 1:00 p.m. The race will be televised live on SPEED with additional live broadcasting available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

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

To grab your official Bucked Up Apparel, please log onto BuckedUpShirts.com or BuckedUpApparel.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 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 .

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TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:

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