Patrick Sheltra Amped For Berlin Raceway Challenge

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Berlin ARCA 200

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
August 5, 2010

MARNE, Michigan (August 4, 2010) - - Returning to the site of his very first ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards top-five finish at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in 2007, Patrick Sheltra returns to the shortest track on the tour vying not only another top-five performance but a win in Saturday night’s Berlin ARCA 200.

After overcoming several obstacles and conquering his ninth top-10 finish in 11 races this season last Saturday afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, the Indiantown, Florida native treks to the upper western roots of Michigan hoping to award his Jon Wolfe-led team with a flawless performance in his fourth trip to Berlin (Mich.) Raceway.

“I have very fond memories of Berlin,” said Sheltra. “It’s a great little race track that presents some unique challenges. We’re super excited to have Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant back on-board this weekend and hope that their faith in our race team will yield a great finish.”

The 24-year old Sheltra continued, “Berlin is tricky. It doesn’t have a backstretch wall and it’s extremely flat, so the setup can be a challenge but I know that Jon (Wolfe, crew chief) is confident about how the car will respond on Saturday, so it will be my job to get up on the wheel and win the race!”

Just past the halfway mark in the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season, Sheltra is pleased with the performance of his race team but he admits the team is ready to win, more than ready. “We’ve have a superb race team,” Sheltra sounded. “The guys give over 100 percent every single day. They are capable of winning and ready to win. We’ve been in contention all year but for whatever reasons we just haven’t been able to seal the deal. I’m hoping we can complete another task on our checklist Saturday night.”

Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant joins the Mooresville, North Carolina-based operation as the primary marketing partner for the fifth short track event of the season.

Sitting on the shores of Lake Macatawa and being downtown Holland’s only waterfront restaurant, Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant offers family friendly casual dining, waterfront views, indoor and outdoor dining, banquet facilities, catering services and a convenient full menu takeout.

“I cannot tell you what it means to us to have this awesome relationship continue with Boatwerks for this weekend,” said Sheltra, who enters the 12th race of the season fifth in the ARCA Racing Series championship point standings. There commitment and loyalty to this team at Berlin represents their willingness to promote our team and ARCA in their backyard. I hope we can make them proud!”

Before the veteran ARCA teams turns their full-attention to the .4-mile paved oval on Saturday, the team will participate in a open-test session on Friday for two hours broken up into two one-hour sessions. The ARCA Racing Series will share the track with the other local divisions competing at the legendary race course.

“This is something (testing) that we’ve never been able to do before, but we could not turn down the opportunity to dial in our No. 60 Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant / Speed Media Dodge Charger,” Sheltra explained. “Track time is so crucial, especially with practice being so short on Saturday afternoon. This could just be the missing piece that finally puts us in the winner’s circle.”

Sitting 130 markers behind close friend and racing colleague Justin Marks, Sheltra is focused on reeling in the points he needs, to put his Sheltra Motorsports operation back in the title chase. “Every point counts and strategy will be crucial. We’re prepared though and we’ll be ready to gnaw away at our deficit the rest of the year,” Sheltra concluded.

Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant is located at 216 VanRaalte Avenue in Holland, Michigan. For information, please call 616.396.0600. The Sheltra Motorsports team will dine at the restaurant on Friday night before turning their full attention to Saturday night’s contest.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Speed Media, a long-time vendor and marketing partner of Sheltra Motorsports will leap aboard Sheltra’s green and orange hot road as an associate marketing partner for Saturday night’s anticipated thriller. Speed Media has handled the design and disbursement of the team’s hero cards, press kits, team logos and much more since the team’s full-time entrance into motorsports four years ago.

Cost-effective marketing partnerships are still available for this weekend at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and the remainder of the 2010 racing season. For additional information, please contact brandon@patricksheltra.com or marketing@patricksheltra.com.

Entering Berlin, Sheltra has 78 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 31 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 Berlin ARCA 200 (200 laps / 88 miles) is the 12th of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The 23rd ARCA event held at the Marne, Michigan racetrack is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, August 7 with an hour and half practice session planned from 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m. An on-track autograph session has been etched in from 6:15 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. The event will take the green flag that evening shortly after 8:30 p.m. The race will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the day will be available through the BAS Racing Network in conjunction with 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.

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 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