Patrick Sheltra Super Serious About Springfield

Topics:  Patrick Sheltra, Allen Crowe 100

Chris Knight
Sheltra Motorsports
August 19, 2010

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (August 19, 2010) - - The first of two dirt races are upon the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards tour this weekend starting with the Illinois State Fairgrounds and without hesitation, it would be more than fair to put Patrick Sheltra and his Mooresville, North Carolina based Sheltra Motorsports team on the radar screen as a threat to win Sunday’s Allen Crowe 100.

The anticipation for Sunday’s race for the Indiantown, Florida native could be compared to a six year old waking up on Christmas morning, running down a flight of stairs and seeing a bundle of presents left by Santa Claus. Though the Holidays are still months away, Sheltra joyfully would accept his second-career ARCA win in the 14th race of the season as an extremely early “Christmas” present.

“I love racing on the dirt, especially in ARCA,” said Sheltra, a four-year ARCA pro. “We’ve never really have had any terrible finishes at Springfield despite some bad luck but we haven’t been able to seal the deal with a win. Our consistency this year obviously makes us a favorite, but I’m ready to be more than a favorite. I’m ready to be a winner!”

The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is often referred to as one of the most diverse Motorsports sanctioning bodies on the planet and Sheltra admits it would be hard to argue that statement. “How cool is it when you can swing a 3400-pound stock car around on the dirt? A little slipping and sliding and a lot of car control all in 100 laps. Racing in a stock car doesn’t get much better than that.”

Sheltra, a successful dirt late model ace before moving up the ladder to stock cars added, “I think these dirt races are exactly what the racing doctor ordered for us. Overall, our team is very excited about Springfield and the upcoming race at DuQuoin because we know our chances of winning there increase tremendously. While I’m confident we have a shot at being victorious this weekend, the field is going to be strong which should put on a great show for the fans.”

After finishing 13th in the most recent ARCA race at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) last Sunday afternoon, Sheltra sits fifth in the championship standings just 95 markers behind current points’ leader and nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel. Just 20 markers separate the 24-year old from moving into fourth and a mere 50 credits keeps Sheltra from re-auditioning on the championship podium.

“Truly, this (Springfield) is one of our best chances to make-up some ground in the standings. Frank (Kimmel) is always tough on the dirt but I feel like that when we unload on Sunday morning, we should have a good enough No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports / PatrickSheltra.com Dodge Charger that we can acquire some qualifying bonus points and with a positive finish, we can erase some of our deficit to the others.”

This weekend, the Sheltra Motorsports team will revert to a blast from the past when the team led by veteran crew chief Jon Wolfe will unload the No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Dodge tricked out in an all camouflage paint scheme swooshed in with streaks of neon orange. The paint scheme was a normal fixture for the Sheltra Motorsports team in 2008 before scaling back and running the popular wrap only on the dirt races last year.

“The camouflage car has always been one of my favorite paint schemes,” sounded the avid hunter. “It’s a layout that instantly grabs your attention and has been very popular not only in the garage area but with the fans too. It makes sense to run it here and at DuQuoin. Just maybe, we’ll be camouflage enough where no one will be able to see us on Sunday!”

Sheltra, who will compete in the 1,307 race since the ARCA Racing Series formed in 1953, will make his fourth career start at the one-mile clay oval on Sunday. The NASCAR-bound driver made his debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2007 where he started ninth and rose to third. In 2008, Sheltra rebounded from a tire failure to finish 12th after starting 11th. Last year, Sheltra qualified a track-best of fourth, remained a factor the entire race but had to settle for another third place finish driving the No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger.

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 Hinson (brandon@patricksheltra.com) or email marketing@patricksheltra.com.

Entering Springfield, Sheltra has 80 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 16 top-fives and posted 32 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 seven times for 173 laps.

The Allen Crowe 100 (100 laps / 100 miles) is the 14th of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The 28th ARCA event held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds is a one-day show. Practice begins Sunday, August 22 with a one hour practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. The field will take the green flag Sunday afternoon shortly after 1:00 p.m. The race will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the day will be available 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