Patrick “Mr. Showtime” Sheltra Prepared To Battle In Menards 200

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Menards 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
May 22, 2010

TOLEDO, Ohio (May 22, 2010) - - Despite qualifying 18th for Sunday’s Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care at the Toledo (Oh.) Speedway, Indiantown, Florida native Patrick Sheltra is confident in the ability of his No. 60 Recycling Services-Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger that will propel the Sheltra Motorsports team to their sixth top-10 finish of the year in as many starts.

During the short hour and a half practice on Saturday afternoon, Sheltra and crew chief Jon Wolfe focused on the handling of the Grace Sheltra owned automobile. With the rising talent reporting a twitchy loose condition, the team made several adjustments which immensely improved the performance of the team’s Chrysler nameplate. – Still struggling with the rotation of his automobile from the center of the corner the team made additional changes with Sheltra reporting the changes were definitely a step in the right direction.

Sheltra though finished the lone practice session in the 18th position maneuvering around the half-mile oval in 16.930 seconds at 106.320 miles per hour. Preparing to make his seventh start at the ARCA owned facility, Sheltra turned 59 laps during the caution-free session.

Unable to put new Hoosier rubber on their machine before the conclusion of practice, the team would prepare their pilot for qualifications with a full tank of Sunoco Racing fuel, a few more minor tweaks on their chassis and four brand new sticker tires.

In Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell, Sheltra was the 25th car to make a qualifying attempt. Sheltra laid down a time of 16.774 seconds in his first lap and picked up the pace even more on his second lap by posting a run of 16.629 seconds at 108.245 miles per hour, ironically landing the team 18th on the starting grid.

Even though Sheltra picked a little over three-tenths of a second, he will still be forced to start the sixth race of the season marred mid-pack also known as the “Eye of the storm” in the 32-car starting field.

“Our No. 60 Recycling Services-Ferguson Pipe-Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger is pretty good believe it or not,” sounded Sheltra. “The guys made some aggressive changes from practice to qualifying and even though we picked it up we still found ourselves 18th. I’ll admit, the field here is incredibly tight this weekend, which should put on a good show for the fans. However, for whatever reason, I’ve never been able to qualify real good here but once the green flag drops for the race – we’re in the mix and in contention for the win. We’re looking to prove that once again tomorrow.”

Statically speaking, Sheltra was on target with his comment. In his three top-10 finishes at Toledo Speedway, Sheltra has started worse than his 18th place qualifying effort today. Sheltra started 21st in the fall 2007 before finishing eighth. A year later Sheltra qualified even deeper in 24th but muscled his Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS to a stout fourth place finish. For Sheltra at least, starting in the back hasn’t always been a downside at Toledo.

One of ARCA’s most popular drivers added, “We may have lost the battle (in qualifying) but we are not prepared to lose the war (the race). If there’s any light with our qualifying run today, Justin (Marks) and Steve (Arpin) were unable to gain any additional bonus points for qualifying inside the top-three, so that’s one less thing we’ll have to worry about going into the race tomorrow. We’re going to have to use patience and race the track and be around in the end when it counts the most.”

All About Flowers, American Concrete, Buffalo Wings & Rings, CAM 2 Blue Blood Racing Oil, Ferguson Pipe Enterprises and Sheltra & Son Construction, Inc. will join Recycling Services as the team’s marketing partners in Sunday’s anticipated thriller.

Entering Toledo, Sheltra has 72 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem (Ind.) Speedway (April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated 13 top-fives and posted 27 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 six times for 148 laps.

The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 100 miles) is the sixth of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series schedule. The 67th ARCA race at Toledo Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Saturday, May 22 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 12:30 p.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. An hour and 15 minute on-track autograph session has been etched in from 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. on race day. The contest will take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 23. The race will not be televised but weekend coverage including live timing and scoring and a radio broadcast will be available through the BAS Racing Network online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

For the latest on Patrick Sheltra, Sheltra Motorsports and marketing partnership opportunities please visit PatrickSheltra.com.

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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.

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