ARCA Points Leader Patrick Sheltra Sixth In First Practice At Iowa

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Prairie Meadows 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
July 10, 2010

NEWTON, Iowa (July 10, 2010) - - Current ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards points leader Patrick Sheltra knocked off the sixth fastest time in his No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry Saturday morning in preparation for tonight’s Prairie Meadows 200 presented by SPEED on Mediacom at Iowa Speedway.

Sheltra enters the ninth race of the 2010 season on the heels of eight consecutive top-10 finishes in a row including his fifth top-five finish of the year with a third place result in the most recent ARCA event at Michigan International Speedway on June 11.

Set to make his fourth career start at the .875-mile Rusty Wallace designed oval, Sheltra is happy with the way his day has started out.

“This No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota is a dream to drive,” offered Sheltra, whose retained the top spot in the championship chase for the third consecutive contest entering tonight’s festivities. “We decided not to come out and test here but felt like we had a setup that would point us in the right direction once we unloaded. Needless to say, we are extremely pleased with the way that car is performing. We need to make some very minor tweaks to really dial our Toyota Camry in, but I’m stoked about the race tonight.”

Saturday morning marked the first time that Sheltra has ever landed inside the top-10 during a practice session at Iowa Speedway. Previously, Sheltra posted a 16th place effort in 2008 in the No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Dodge Charger.

“We didn’t make any qualifying runs or anything, so I don’t think we’ve flexed our strongest performance yet,” sounded Sheltra. “Jon (Wolfe, crew chief) and all the guys on the Sheltra Motorsports team really worked hard to give me a good car, no matter what the circumstance. I think it’s a top-three car for sure tonight.

The 24-year old ran 49 laps during the hour and thirty five minute session posting his fastest lap of 24.343 seconds at 129.401 miles per hour, .523 seconds behind session leader Joey Coulter.

In addition to fighting for an impressive ninth consecutive top-10 finish in a row, Sheltra will utilize tonight’s event to also pay tribute to Matt Hawkins. The Indiantown, Florida native has placed an “In Memory of Matt Hawkins” decal on the b-post section of his Sheltra Motorsports machine in remembrance for Hawkins, a former Iowa ARCA winner and racing competitor. Hawkins, the 2008 winner at Newton, Iowa facility lost his life in a tragic accidental gun-discharge in February 2009. Thanks to long-time decal supplier, DMC Graphics of Philpot, Kentucky, the Sheltra Motorsports brigade has made the decal available for tonight’s competitors, ARCA officials and track personnel.

“Matt’s with us all today,” Sheltra spoke. “It’s pretty cool to see the entire field have that decal on their car for tonight’s race. Hopefully we’ll have a safe clean race and Matt can help guide us to victory lane!”

Sheltra drew the 34th of 40 positions for Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying slated for this evening (5:15 p.m. local).

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

Entering Iowa, Sheltra has 75 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 15 top-fives and posted 30 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 Prairie Meadows 200 (200 laps / 175 miles) is the ninth of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The fifth ever ARCA race at Iowa Speedway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, July 10 with an hour and thirty five minute practice session planned from 10:00 a.m. – 11:35 a.m. A final fifty minute session has been etched in from 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 5:15 p.m. The event will take the green flag shortly after 8:00 p.m. The event will air live on SPEED. Additional race coverage including live timing and scoring and audio broadcasting throughout the day will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) presented by ARCA Nation online at arcaracing.com. All times are local (Central).

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 professional Motorsports organization consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 24-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. 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