ARCA Point’s Leader Patrick Sheltra Rockets To Third In Qualifying At MIS

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Racing for Wildlife 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
June 10, 2010

BROOKLYN, Michigan (June 10, 2010) - - ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards point’s leader Patrick Sheltra qualified third for tomorrow’s Racing for Wildlife 200 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS). The qualification run also awarded Sheltra five bonus points based on ARCA’s qualifying procedure.

Sheltra was also one of only four drivers to break into the 38-second bracket and the Indiantown, Florida native was able to better his practice run from earlier in the day.

The 24-year old rising star elected to only run one of two allotted laps in Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying after negotiating his No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry to a time of 38.691 seconds at 186.090 miles per hour. At the time, Sheltra went to second on the overall qualifying board only to be bumped by eventual pole sitter Craig Goess.

The lap in the Grace Sheltra owned automobile was over three and a half tenths faster than the organization’s second fastest time in practice Thursday morning.

Sheltra, the only driver to finish in the top-10 in all seven ARCA Racing Series events this season shattered his previous best non-rained out qualifying run at Michigan International Speedway of 19th back in 2008. Last year, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based operation started seventh after time trials were rained out due to inclement weather.

“We would have liked to have been on the pole, but we’ll take third and look at the bigger picture tomorrow, winning the race,” offered Sheltra, who will make his fifth start at MIS Friday evening. “That was the fastest lap we have turned at Michigan this year, so we really can’t complain. I want to thank my guys, Triad and our marketing partners for their support and assistance this weekend.”

Sheltra continued, “One of the big keys to Michigan is clean air and starting in third, we should have plenty of that. I’m real happy with our Toyota program this year and it’s all Toyotas in the first three spots, so it’s bound to be a good show. We here to win but we’re also keeping the bigger picture in mind. We want to leave here with another good finish that keeps our team in the spotlight.”

The Racing for Wildlife 200 marks the fifth time in Sheltra’s career where he will pilot a Toyota Camry in an ARCA event. The team has run two races thus far in 2010 with the Japanese nameplate at Texas Motor Speedway and most recently last weekend at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The team rebounded from being collected in an early race altercation at Texas to finish seventh and posted their fourth top-five run of the year last Saturday at Pocono by crossing the line fourth.

Justin Marks who is now 30 points behind Sheltra in the ARCA Racing Series championship chase netted the 12th fastest time in qualifying, with Venturini Motorsports’ Mikey Kile who is third in the overall championship rundown grabbed the outside pole for tomorrow’s contest. With Kile’s effort, he chopped five points off his deficit to Sheltra in the point standings now sitting 90 markers behind the ARCA pro. Sheltra now has 1670 points overall, compared to 1665 markers earned entering the garage area this morning.

Cost-effective marketing partnerships are still available for Michigan International Speedway this weekend and for the remainder of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season. For additional information, please contact marketing@patricksheltra.com.

Sheltra has 74 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 14 top-fives and posted 29 top-10 finishes. A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway (April 2009) and Michigan International Speedway (June 2010) is Sheltra’s best time trials effort to date. He has controlled the ARCA field six times for 148 laps.

The Racing for Wildlife 200 (100 laps / 200 miles) is the eighth of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series schedule. The 29th ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Thursday, June 10 with a two hour practice session planned from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is set for later in the day slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Friday, June 11 shortly after 5:00 p.m. The event will air live on SPEED. Additional race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the week will be available through the BAS Racing Network in conjunction with the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

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

Join the official Patrick Sheltra fan page on Facebook by clicking here.

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