| Patrick Sheltra Ready For Lone Star State Invasion
“ARCA Veteran Anxious For Texas Motor Speedway
Open Test”
JUSTIN, Texas (March 5, 2010) - - On the heels of two top-10
finishes in-a-row following the most recent ARCA Racing
Series event at Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway
last weekend, Indiantown, Florida native Patrick Sheltra
is shifting gears and preparing for a demanding test at
Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) on Tuesday, March 9.
The ARCA Racing Series is returning to the ultra-fast 1.5-mile
speedway for the first time in 12 years but the 23-year
old Sheltra will embrace the track centered in the “Lone
Star” state for the first time in his racing career.
Sheltra, in his fourth season of ARCA competition has competed
at similar intermediate tracks like Chicagoland Speedway,
Kansas Speedway and Kentucky Speedway but he knows that
TMS has the potential to bring a whole new kind of rattle
to the program.
“Without a doubt, Texas might just be the fastest
track that ARCA competes on,” said Sheltra, who sits
a very competitive fourth in the championship standings
after two races. “Sure, we top 200 miles per hour
at Daytona and Talladega, but those are a very different
scenario than what we’re anticipating on Tuesday.
I’m expecting the track to be very fast which should
lead to some impressive lap times which could set the tone
to what we can expect when we return in April.”
Sheltra realizes though that with the speed will come some
fierce racing which he is gladly hoping for when the Rattlesnake
150 takes the green flag on April 16 live on SPEED.
“No one wants to see a dull race – and we know
last year, some of the best racing occurred on tracks similar
to Texas. The competition will be intense because everyone
wants to say that they won in ARCA’s return to Texas.
I want to win at Texas though because I want one of those
cowboy hats!”
And should “Mr. Showtime” master the field
and pull into victory lane for his first career speedway
victory, he knows exactly where’s going to put the
legendary victory lane treasure. “If we win, that
hat is not leaving the state – we’ll put it
down in our ranch in Dryden.”
Speaking of Dryden, Sheltra is planning to make the hike
to the isolated city following Tuesday’s test session.
“I guess you can call me a part-time Texan,”
Sheltra laughed. “You might as well. Our family spends
a lot of time out there, which is about eight hours from
the track. Texas is just a cool state, so to have the honor
to be able to now race in the same state doesn’t hurt
my feelings one bit.”
For the first time this season, Jon Wolfe, crew chief for
Sheltra Motorsports will unload a Toyota Camry as the team’s
primary manufacturer of choice for the test on Tuesday.
The team is expected to use the Japanese nameplate for the
fourth race of the season next month.
The No. 60 Toyota Camry is a new addition to the Sheltra
Motorsports fleet after being acquired from Eddie Sharp
Racing, the 2009 ARCA Racing Series championship team.
“We’re excited about this new hot rod,”
Sheltra boasted. “Jon (Wolfe) and the guys have worked
around the clock to get our new baby up and running. I’m
anxious to see how she will roll on Tuesday.”
Sheltra has 69 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and
Menards starts to his credit with one career victory at
Salem Speedway (April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra
has accumulated 11 top-fives and posted 24 top-10 finishes.
A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham Speedway (April
2009) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date.
He has controlled the ARCA field five times for 109 laps.
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
Motorsports operation consisting of dirt and asphalt competition.
Patrick Sheltra, a 23-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. Sheltra Motorsports ownership is combined
of Richard, Grace and Patrick Sheltra. The team is headquartered
in Indiantown, Florida with additional operations in Richmond,
Indiana and Mooresville, North Carolina.
TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
P: 239.834.9797
E: chris@patricksheltra.com |
