Patrick Sheltra, No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger; Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by ApplianceZone.com Fast Facts

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
April 9, 2010

ARCA Racing Series Race No. 3, Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by ApplianceZone.com, Salem Speedway, Salem, Indiana

Race Information: Event: Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by ApplianceZone.com, Sunday, April 11 at 2:15 p.m. Local Time Track: Salem Speedway Qualifying: Saturday, April 10, at 3:30 p.m. Local Time Track Length: .5-mile paved-oval.

Palm Beach Recap: After mounting a top-five finish in the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in early February, Sheltra and his Sheltra Motorsports posse headed back south to the trenches of Jupiter, Florida for the first ever trip to Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) a new road course added to the tour. In the treks of his hometown Indiantown, Florida, Sheltra qualified 12th and survived his first ever stock car race in the rain to finish 10th.

It Happened Here; One Year Ago: Last April (2009), Sheltra climbed back behind the wheel of his Grace Sheltra owned automobile to compete in an ARCA Racing Series event since a near-career ending incident at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway earlier that year. Recovering from injuries that included a compressive fracture of his vertebrae and a dislocated kneecap, Sheltra showed the accident never fazed him as he qualified a then career-best of fourth, led 84 laps en-route to his first career ARCA Racing Series victory at the southern Indiana race track. Sheltra called the win a true example of a Cinderella story.

Welcome Back Buffalo Wings & Rings: Recently, Sheltra Motorsports and Buffalo Wings & Rings announced that the two would reunite for four upcoming ARCA Racing Series events beginning with Sunday’s contest at Salem Speedway. Known for its “Great Food; No Bull!” campaign, Buffalo Wings & Rings is the fastest-growing privately owned franchised chain of restaurants in the nation serving Buffalo-style chicken wings, onion rings, burgers, gyros, wraps and salads. And the only wing establishment in the country with a unique saucing system, customers of BWR get to choose from 45 different sauce combinations. Founded in 1984 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Buffalo Wings & Rings operates 56 franchised restaurants in the United States. Buffalo Wings & Rings was ranked the No. 1 fastest growing restaurant chain nationwide in the July 2008 issue of Restaurant Business, and ranked in the top 500 franchises in the January 2009 issue of Entrepreneur.

Salem Lowdown: For the seventh time in his ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards career, Patrick Sheltra will take the green flag at Salem Speedway. The 23-year old driver has five top-15 finishes including a win and three 11th place finishes. Sheltra’s worst finish at Salem occurred last September where he finished 16th after starting 10th. His best time trials effort came last April when he knocked out a fourth place qualifying effort. He has also controlled the field for 84 laps around the legendary oval in his six previous starts.

Patrick Sheltra ARCA Career At-A-Glance: Entering Salem, Sheltra has 69 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway (April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated 11 top-fives and posted 24 top-10 finishes. A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway (April 2009) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date. He has controlled the ARCA field five times for 109 laps.

Are You In The Know?: Patrick Sheltra and Sheltra Motorsports are proud to be apart of the Facebook and Twitter cravings. If you have an account, join our club as the Sheltra Motorsports team drives towards winning the 2010 ARCA Racing Series championship.

Nice Stat: So far in 2010, Sheltra is joined by only one other driver who has scored two top-10 finishes in both races this season. With the ARCA Racing Series pro fifth place finish at Daytona, and 10th place performance at Palm Beach, Steve Arpin is the only other competitor who has also finished inside the top-10 in the two of 20 events so far this season.

Point’s Check: Two races down, 18 to go, Sheltra with the guidance of crew chief Jon Wolfe sits fourth in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings just 35 markers behind current leader Justin Marks. Just five points separate the Indiantown, Florida native from second place currently occupied by Robb Brent and Steve Arpin. Mother and car owner Grace Sheltra locks the fourth position in the ARS car owner standings, just 35 credits from the top-spot held by Kevin Cywinski (No. 32).

Autographs Anyone?: Patrick Sheltra will sign autographs for race fans on Sunday, April 11th from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. local time. Race fans will be permitted to the frontstretch of Salem Speedway where they will be able to meet the starting grid for Sunday’s race.

Looking Ahead: It will be a busy couple weeks for the ARCA Racing Series tour. Salem starts the stretch of three back-to-back events. Next Friday night, the series will compete in the Rattlesnake 150 at Texas Motor Speedway. The teams will then shift gears and prepare for their final restrictor plate race of the season at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for the running of the Talladega ARCA 250 set for Friday, April 23. Both Texas and Talladega will be aired live on SPEED.

Vote Him Your Favorite Driver: Race fans can vote Patrick Sheltra as the 2010 ARCA Racing Series most popular driver by visiting ARCANation.com. From now until the end of the season, race fans can click on to ARCA’s official fan-related web site and vote once a day for their favorite ARCA Racing Series driver. The winner will be announced at the ARCA Racing Series Championship Awards Banquet in Covington, Kentucky this December. If you’re an ARCA Nation member your vote counts twice per day for one driver. If you’re a non-ARCA Nation member, your vote counts only once. Sign up today at ARCANation.com and vote for Patrick Sheltra!

Sheltra Motorsports, Salem Speedway Pre-Race Quotes: Patrick Sheltra, driver of the No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger:

On Palm Beach International Raceway: “For never having raced in the rain before, I felt like we had a good run. The entire race was very competitive and I was really impressed with the way the field handled the wet conditions. It was probably one of the best ARCA Racing Series events I was apart of. A 10th place finish in the rain and on a road course, I’ll take it.”

On Returning To Salem Speedway: “Without a doubt, Salem is one of my favorite races on the circuit. The track is really rough but that is what makes that place so great. I have a good feeling about this weekend. The same feeling I had last year.”

On Going For Back-To-Back Victories: “I want to win again so bad, it is not even funny. Our guys have been working hard in the shop and I have been preaching to them about how cool a race at Salem really is for those who have never been there. We’re going there (Salem) with some momentum, so I’m just looking forward to seeing what Sunday brings!”

On The Return Of Buffalo Wings & Rings: “The return of Buffalo Wings & Rings as a marketing partner with Sheltra Motorsports is very important to me. It’s a great place to eat and the people with BWR are just incredible to work with. We’re going to have a huge cheering section on Sunday and that’s just the type of support we need to return to victory lane!”

On Points: “We’re sitting comfortable right now. Our goal this weekend is to escape Salem with the point’s lead. I feel like if we can keep a good head on our shoulders and race smart, we’ll be around all season long and be able to capture the championship crown in October. I know it can be a little too early to be thinking about point’s, but these races are going to fly by here soon – so we have to really look at them whether we really want to or not.”

Sheltra Motorsports, Salem Speedway Pre-Race Quotes: Grace Sheltra, owner of the No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger:

On Palm Beach International Raceway: “It was a lot of fun to race in our back yard with the family and friends in-toe. Patrick and the team did a fantastic job given all of the obstacles the weather gave the teams. We’re off to the best start ever in racing and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

On Salem Speedway: “There’s no describing how it felt to be in victory lane last April. It was one of those experiences that you will never forget. I love short track racing but Salem has become one of my favorite race tracks not just because of the win. The weather should be great which should yield a good show for everyone on Sunday.”

On The Early Season Success: “We’re very happy with the direction of the team right now. We made a big move in the off-season to North Carolina. The team has really gelled well together and it’s showing on the track. I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season brings.”

PRIOR RESULTS:
Patrick Sheltra, Salem Speedway Prior ARCA Performance Record:

The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by Appliancezone.com (200 laps / 111 miles) is the third of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The 84th ARCA race held at Salem Speedway is a two day show. Practice begins Saturday, April 10 with an hour and half practice session planned from 12:30p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Sunday, April 11 shortly after 2:15 p.m. The race will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring and radio broadcast will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

Fast Links:

Driver / Team: Patrick Sheltra on the web: PatrickSheltra.com

Marketing Partner: Buffalo Wings & Rings on the web: BuffaloWingsandRings.com

Sanction: ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards: ARCARacing.com

About Sheltra Motorsports:

Sheltra Motorsports (sheltramotorsports.com) is a three-tier Motorsports operation consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 23-year old native of Indiantown, Florida competes in the UMP and WoO (Dirt) Series; while also running a full schedule in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards (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 Mooresville, North Carolina.

About Buffalo Wings & Rings:

Buffalo Wings & Rings is the fastest-growing privately owned franchised chain of restaurants in the nation serving Buffalo-style chicken wings, onion rings, burgers, gyros, wraps and salads. Founded in 1984 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Buffalo Wings & Rings operates franchised restaurants throughout the United States. Buffalo Wings & Rings was ranked the No. 1 fastest growing restaurant chain nationwide in the July 2008 issue of Restaurant Business, and ranked in the top 500 franchises in the January 2009 issue of Entrepreneur. For more information, visit buffalowingsandrings.com or call 513-831-WING.

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