Patrick Sheltra Off To Solid Start At Pocono Raceway

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Weis Markets 125

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
July 30, 2010

LONG POND, Pennsylvania (July 30, 2010) - - Patrick Sheltra in the No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry placed seventh in the lone practice session Friday morning leading up to tomorrow’s Weis Markets 125 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, round 11 of 20 on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule.

Under the direction of crew chief Jon Wolfe, Sheltra, the 24-year old ARCA pro was one of the first drivers to tackle the track nicknamed “The Tricky Triangle” when the track opened for practice. Immediately, “Mr. Showtime” stormed his Sheltra Motorsports machine to the front by posting the fourth quickest lap.

After some routine chassis adjustments, Wolfe and his Mooresville, North Carolina based operation returned the Indiantown, Florida native back to the speed plant where Sheltra advanced to second in the pylon before his other competitors made their simulated qualifying runs which saw the No. 60 machine eventually backslide to seventh.

Sheltra ran a total of 21 laps around the 2.5-mile triangle posting his fastest lap in 55.051 seconds or 163.485 miles per hour. 40 of the scheduled 41 starters took practice laps around the Long Pond racecourse under spectacular weather conditions, setting the stage for the 51st ARCA race run at the facility following the inaugural Pocono Mountains 125 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event tomorrow afternoon.

“We’re good,” said Sheltra, who enters this weekend’s race fourth in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings. “We’re working on dialing in our car a little more and hoping to have an advantage for the race tomorrow that will take us to victory lane.”

Sheltra, who will make ninth career start at Pocono tomorrow added, “We’re going to tweak some things and do a thorough inspection on our Toyota Camry and hopefully it will be the extra nudge that will not only help us in qualifying but give us a good baseline for the race tomorrow. It’s (race) going to be a quick one with only 50 laps scheduled, so we have to be right the moment that green flag drops.”

Earlier Friday morning, the team drew the 37th slot for Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying set for 1:40 p.m. this afternoon. Sheltra will look to eclipse his best career starting position at Pocono of sixth which occurred seven weeks ago in June.

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

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.

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. 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.

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 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