Patrick Sheltra Comments On 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series Schedule

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
October 31, 2008

INDIANTOWN, Florida (October 31, 2008) - - Late Thursday afternoon, ARCA RE/MAX Series officially unlocked the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule which will consist of 22 events in 13 states and two countries with a return trip to Canada next year. A diverse combination of superspeedways, short tracks, dirt tracks and road course racing will make up the 2009 tour, in its 57th consecutive season of competition.

22-year old Patrick Sheltra will return to the ARCA RE/MAX Series for a third consecutive season on the heels of a career-best 2008 season which included two-runner up finishes at Toledo Speedway and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds followed by two additional top-five finishes and nine top-10 efforts in his sophomore season. The late season surge from the Whitesville, Kentucky based team catapulted Sheltra from ninth in the championship standings to sixth in the final rundown.

Car owner Grace Sheltra was the leading female car owner also finishing sixth in the official 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series car owner points. There were eight registered female car owners this season.

Sheltra, who will also split his 2009 schedule competing in a limited schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series commented on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule.

PATRICK SHELTRA: (ON THE OVERALL 2009 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES SCHEDULE) “Not too bad. It should be an exciting season. We’re starting off the season in Daytona with some momentum from our top-five finish at Talladega , so I’m excited. I’m disappointed that there isn’t a race for almost two months but I’m sure we’ll be doing some heavy testing in that stretch so it may not be a bad thing.”

SHELTRA: (ON TWO EVENTS AT ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY ) “The Rock wasn’t so nice to the Sheltra Motorsports team when we were there this year but we’ll have two shots to get it right next year. To end the season at such a historical place like Rockingham Speedway is a good move by ARCA officials.”

SHELTRA: (ON TALLADEGA MOVING TO APRIL) “I’m still not sure how I really feel about that. You literally have to walk away with your Daytona car intact to get a jump on Talladega . On the other hand, the restrictor plate racing will be done in the first two months of the season. That could be big for points. Moving the race to April will definitely make it interesting for everyone.”

SHELTRA: (ON THE ADDITION OF THE MUSIC CITY MOTORPLEX TO THE 2009 SCHEDULE) “I know my guys are really excited about going to the Music City Motorplex. They tell me it’s a track that fits my driving style, so I think we’re going to be good there. I also think we plan to do some testing there, so I’m pretty optimistic heading back to Music City .”

SHELTRA: (ON A RETURN TRIP TO CAYUGA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN CANADA ) “We had a real good car there this year, so in a way I’m looking forward to going back. I just hope we have a little better luck the second time around. I think it’s good for the ARCA RE/MAX Series to extend its root and we’re hoping to have Groupe Beton Brunet back on board in 2009.”

SHELTRA: (ON RETURNING TO KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY IN 2009) “We were a little worried for a while that Kentucky Speedway would not be on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. Now with the official schedule being released we can breathe a little easier knowing that we’re going back. Racing at Kentucky Speedway is important for our race team especially with us being based in Kentucky . Kentucky Speedway was the site of my very first top-10 in ARCA, so it’s a place that has a lot of meaning to me.”

SHELTRA: (ON DIRT RACING NEXT YEAR) “The ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule would not be complete without racing on the dirt. It’s my goal next year to win both of those events. We had good cars at Springfield and DuQuoin this year and came up one position short at DuQuoin. For the first time this year a number of my guys had the opportunity to experience stock cars racing on the dirt and they were in their glory. I can’t wait.”

SHELTRA: (ON RETURNING TO NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK NEXT SEPTEMBER) “I had a blast on the road course. We finished 11th in our first outing at a road course and we were pretty happy with that. I feel we had a car strong enough to finish inside the top-10, but rain ruined our chances of making that a reality. I don’t think we’ll test like we did this year, but New Jersey Motorsports Park is a fun place to race and I’m looking forward to going back.”

SHELTRA: (ON KANSAS SPEEDWAY REPLACING THE TALLADEGA RACE DATE) “Kansas Speedway was the site of our first top-10 finish with a Dodge Charger, so the track has been good to us. It will be extremely weird to race there in October, but at least we’ll be there with the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series. I believe these mile-and-a-half tracks will be our strength in 2009.”

SHELTRA: (ON A RACE TRACK MISSING FROM THE 2009 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES SCHEDULE) “I really wish ARCA would bring Winchester Speedway back to the tour. It’s a fun place to race and I think a lot of the drivers would agree with me. There is no other short track on the circuit that you can compare to Winchester Speedway; it’s just that powerful of a racetrack. I’m disappointed it’s not on the schedule but maybe down the road it will be and if I’m able to compete in the race, I will.”

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

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TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 830.261.1215
EMAIL: chris@patricksheltra.com