Patrick Sheltra, No. 60 Recycling Services Toyota Pocono Raceway ARCA Fast Facts

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Weis Markets 125

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
July 29, 2010

Patrick Sheltra, No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry, Weis Markets 125 Fast Facts

ARCA Racing Series Race No. 11, Weis Markets 125, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Race Information: Event: Weis Markets 125, Saturday, July 31 at 3:00 p.m. Local Time Track: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway Qualifying: Friday, July 30, at 1:40 p.m. Local Time; Track Length: 2.5-mile paved-triangle.

Last Time Out; Mansfield Motorsports Park: For the second consecutive ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards race, Patrick Sheltra and his Jon Wolfe led-Sheltra Motorsports were bitten by bad luck as rear-end gremlins bit the Mooresville, North Carolina operation 92 laps into the 200-lap Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA 200 at Mansfield Motorsports Park. Sheltra had to settle for a 21st, place finish tying his inaugural Mansfield performance in 2009.

Returning Back To The Long Pond: The Indiantown, Florida native will make his ninth start at the popular triangle race course and aim for his third top-five finish this weekend. In his previous eight efforts, Sheltra has acquired a track best of third last June while mounting a strong fourth place outing in his recent trip to Long Pond in June. Qualifying though has not been a downfall for the popular driver as Sheltra has nailed six top-15 qualifying runs including a track best of sixth in the spring race of this year.

Moving Forward Again: For the seventh time in his ARCA career, 24-year old Patrick Sheltra will pilot a Toyota Camry in Saturday’s contest. Sheltra competed under the Japanese banner at Texas Motor Speedway in April where Sheltra revived himself from being collected in an early race incident to score a solid seventh place finish. Sheltra also piloted a Toyota Camry to two of his five top-five finishes of the year seven weeks ago at Pocono and a week later at Michigan International Speedway with a third-place outing. Additionally, the team ran a Camry at Iowa Speedway earlier this month before engine failure while locked in the top-10 resulted in a disappointing finish. Last season under the guidance of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship organization Germain Racing, Sheltra hoisted a Camry at Michigan International Speedway and at the season-finale at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway.

Tricky Triangle Fast Fact: Did you know that when Sheltra made his first career ARCA Racing Series start at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, he piloted the No. 99 FloraGanics / Brady Ranch Dodge Charger for renowned racing competitor Ken Schrader. Sheltra started 21st but finished 22nd after being swept into an incident just seven laps from the finish in June of 2006. From there, Sheltra has been able to rebound and post seven consecutive top-15 starting positions and five top-12 finishes including a track best of third last June (2009) in eight additional starts.

Jarrett Back On The Horn: Veteran spotter and former ARCA Racing Series driver Jason Jarrett will spot for Sheltra in Saturday’s Weis Markets 125. Jarrett, the son of two-time Daytona 500 champion and former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett spotted for Sheltra in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in 2007. Jarrett also guided Sheltra to a stout fifth place run in the season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, a seventh place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in April and most recently a season-best second place finish a week later at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Jarrett, a two-time ARCA winner has 10 prior starts at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway with a career track best finish of second, twice in 2002 driving for ML Motorsports. Before concentrating on the No. 60 machine of Sheltra for race number 11, Jarrett will spot in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Pocono for Germain Racing.

Mad Dash With The Gas: For the first time in Sheltra’s ARCA Racing Series Pocono (Pa.) Raceway history, the traditional summer event at the 2.5-mile triangle will not be a 200-mile, 80 lap event. With the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) making their first ever appearance to the Pocono mountains, track and series officials opted to shorten the race length and distance in order to give the fans a double-header feature. The teams will now compete for 50 laps or 125 miles following the conclusion of the Pocono Mountains 125 for the NCWTS.

Summer Stretch Kicks Off In Full Gear: After a leisure starting scheduling for the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards season, Sheltra and his competitors are gearing up for a grueling stretch of 10 races in 11 weeks which begins this weekend at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The teams will now battle a mixture of speedways, short tracks, two dirt tracks and one road course with all the roads leading to the American 200 at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway for the running of the ARCA Racing Series season finale on Saturday, October 9.

Closing In On A Record: While eclipsing his fifth top-five finish of the year at Michigan International Speedway last month, Patrick Sheltra holds a new record for the number of finishes inside the top-five for a full-season. In his previous three full-time seasons, Sheltra has posted a season high of four top-five finishes including in 2009. Sheltra personal best of nine top-10 finishes in 2008 is on the verge of being collapsed with Sheltra aiming for nine top-10s in 11 events in 2010. Sheltra is expected to set a new personal season stat record with 10 races remaining this year.

Point’s Check: 10 races down, 10 to go, Sheltra with the guidance of crew chief Jon Wolfe sits fourth in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings accumulating 2345 points and 125 markers behind current leader Justin Marks. The 24-year old Sheltra also controls the fourth position in the ARS car owner standings. After the most recent ARCA event at Mansfield Motorsports Park, Sheltra slipped to fourth in the championship chase after holding the top-spot for three consecutive races (Toledo, Michigan and Pocono) in a row after also sharing the top-spot with Parker Kligerman for one race (Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway) in 2009.

Nice Stats: By posting his eighth top-10 finish of the season at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) on June 11, Sheltra remains the only ARCA Racing Series driver to finish inside the top-10 in eight of the 10 races thus far in 2010. Sheltra kicked off his strongest start to an ARCA season with a fifth place performance at Daytona, a 10th place performance at Palm Beach, a fourth place run at Salem Speedway, a seventh place outing at Texas Motor Speedway, his season-best second at ‘Dega, an eighth at Toledo Speedway, a fourth place run at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and most recently a third place outing in the Racing for Wildlife 200 at MIS for round number eight.

Patrick Sheltra ARCA Career At-A-Glance: Entering Pocono, Sheltra has 77 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.

Marketing Partnerships Still Available: Multiple cost-effective marketing partnership packages are still available for the 2010 ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR seasons for Patrick Sheltra. Let Sheltra Motorsports show you how to find victory lane in more ways than one! For additional information on how to be apart of our winning organization, please contact brandon@patricksheltra.com or marketing@patricksheltra.com.

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.

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, Pocono Raceway Pre-Race Quotes: Patrick Sheltra, driver / owner of the No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry

On Mansfield Motorsports Park: “Mansfield has not been good to me the last two years. I can’t control that, I guess it’s just one of those tracks you just can’t ever seem to have any luck. The car was good and we were making some serious progress but as quick as I thought it was going to be a good night, it went the other way just as fast.”

On Pocono Raceway: “Pocono is such a great place to race. It’s one of those race tracks that’s not easy to drive but is a lot of fun. We had a super car there in June and I think we’ll have a stout hotrod this weekend. I have a gut feeling that this could be our weekend.”

On The Recent Bad Luck: “Everyone is going to have their problems throughout the year. Unfortunately, our setbacks have occurred in two straight races and we took a dive in points. We’re still focused as ever and committed to winning this championship. We’ll rebound and be better than ever.”

On The Shorter (50 Laps) At Pocono: “Really, it stinks. I don’t think 80 laps is enough and now we’re being cut to 50 laps. I’m all for bringing the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to a new venue, especially Pocono but it’s disappointing because I think you’ll see a different type of race than what we had in June because of the distance.”

On Points: “We’re down but no way near out. We still have a long way to go this year. 10 races left and anything can really happen. It’s been proven that one bad race can literally mean the difference of leading to sliding back down the pylon. No doubt that this championship race won’t be easy but I have a feeling it’s really going to boil down to luck and consistency.”

Sheltra Motorsports, Pocono Raceway Pre-Race Quotes: Jon Wolfe, crew chief of the No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry

On Returning To Pocono Raceway This Weekend: “We had a great run earlier this year at Pocono and really felt like we had a shot to win. A flat tire got us behind and came up just short of a great comeback. We are taking the same Toyota that we ran in the first race, so we’re definitely pumped for this one.”

On Rebounding From Iowa Speedway and Mansfield Motorsports Park: “As racers we learn to deal with ups and downs, we keep our focus and forge ahead. We still have a mission to accomplish and we’ll continue to work hard towards reaching our goals.”

On Attacking A 50-Lap Race At Pocono Raceway: “I think the two things to focus on are one you will not have many opportunities to tune your car on pit stops, so it better be right from the start. Second, Patrick (Sheltra) will have to run hard from the drop of the green flag, no playing safe till the end.”

On Any Potential Track Changes From The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Event Run Before The Weis Markets 125: “The track surface will be a little different for a few laps at the start of our race, but once we lay down some Hoosier rubber the cars will react the same.”

On The Grueling Stretch Of 10 Races In 11 Weeks: “Our guys have been digging hard to prep cars for this stretch, the biggest hurdle is the fact that we will run such a diverse range of tracks over the next few months. We have to have four different types of cars prepared plus back ups for each style track. But also some of the more important preparation is mental, keeping our minds in focus and our families taken care of as they deal with us being gone for most of the time.”

PRIOR RESULTS:

Patrick Sheltra, Pocono Raceway Prior ARCA Performance Record:

The Weis Markets 125 (50 laps / 125 miles) is the 11th of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series schedule. The 51st ARCA race at Pocono Raceway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, July 30 with an hour and forty minute practice session planned from 10:15 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is set for later in the day slated to begin at 1:40 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Saturday, July 31 shortly after 3:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on SPEED with additional weekend (practice / qualifying) and race coverage broadcasted live through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

Fast Links:

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

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

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 Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards (No. 60) and a limited schedule in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). 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