Patrick Sheltra Hopes Momentum Continues At Rockingham

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Carolina 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
April 15, 2009

ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina (April 15, 2009) - - Still on cloud nine from his first career win in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Salem Speedway two weeks ago, Patrick Sheltra heads to Rockingham Speedway this weekend looking to keep the momentum alive in Sunday’s ARCA RE/MAX Carolina 200.

The victory was noted as a Cinderella story for Sheltra, who battled back from injuries sustained in the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series opener at Daytona. In his first race back in an ARCA car since the wreck, Sheltra qualified a career best fourth, led a career high 84 laps before capturing his first ever stock car checkered flag.

Reflecting on the win, Sheltra is hungry for more and returns to Rockingham Speedway this weekend looking to make it back-to-back victories in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

“We’re ready to go and tame the Rock on Sunday,” said Sheltra, an Indiantown, Florida native. “The win at Salem was huge for our team and we would like to keep the momentum going this weekend.”

Sheltra made his Rockingham Speedway debut last May and while the finish wasn’t exactly what he hoped for, Sheltra know has a better understanding of the track and it’s characteristics.

“Rockingham is a neat place,” Sheltra said. “It’s one of those places you cannot compare with anything else we compete on. It does have similarities to some of the other ARCA tracks, but Rockingham by itself is a very demanding race track.”

The 22-year old added, “We came here in March and tested. We were good, but we were looking to be a little better. I know we’ve made some changes to the car which should reflect a better on-track performance for practice and the race. We plan to be a factor this weekend that’s for sure.”

Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to use Sheltra Motorsports Chassis No. 6 this weekend at Rockingham Speedway. This is the same piece the team raced with at Rockingham last year. The team converted the former Joe Gibbs Racing chassis from a Chevrolet to a Dodge Charger during the off-season. It will be run for just the second time in Sheltra’s career. Chassis number 5 will serve as the team’s back-up automobile. That former Joe Gibbs Racing entry is the same automobile that Sheltra rocketed to his first victory at Salem Speedway earlier this month.

Earlier this week, Sheltra Motorsports announced a new marketing partner for Rockingham Speedway in BuckedUpApparel.com. Founded in 2005, The Bucked Up “Antlers with Attitude” brand engages the spirit of outdoor enthusiast of all ages. Their customers are brand loyal, and are skilled in their sports. Bucked Up has found that they are passionate about their families, their friends, and their communities. They want to make a unique statement with their apparel and they also want it to be fashion forward in regards to design, fabric, and message.

“This match fits me perfectly,” sounded Sheltra, in regards to his new affiliation with BuckedUpApparel.com. As everyone knows I’m an avid hunter at heart, so to be able to promote a growing company that carries swift and slick apparel like they do is truly a perfect match for this race team.”

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. Practice begins Saturday, April 18 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 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