| Patrick Sheltra Anxious For Pocono Return
“Sheltra Motorsports Looking For Career Win No.
1 Saturday”
LONG POND, Pennsylvania (June 3, 2008) - - Still riding
high on his career-best second place run at Toledo Speedway
in the most recent ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS) event, Patrick
Sheltra and his Sheltra Motorsports team return to Pocono
Raceway this weekend looking to seal the deal and capture
their first career victory in Saturday’s Pocono ARCA
200 at Pocono Raceway.
Sheltra, the sophomore ARCA RE/MAX Series driver has enjoyed
a very successful second season. In seven races this season,
Sheltra has netted one top-five and four top-10 finishes
including six races in the top-15.
The solid season has Sheltra eighth in points in one of
the tightest championship chases in ARCA history. With that
being said, Sheltra knows that Saturday’s event poses
no room for error and he needs to back up his Toledo performance.
“Pocono. I’m ready,” said Sheltra. “Everyone
is still feeling really good about our run at Toledo Speedway.
I think we proved to everyone that we’re a threat
this year. We hope to continue that statement this weekend
at Pocono.”
Aiming to make his fourth career start at the 2.5-mile
triangle speedway Sheltra aims for his first top-10 finish
at the historic Pennsylvania track. “We came close
to a top-10 finish last August,” Sheltra recalled.
“I think with what I’ve learned and what we’ve
learned as a team, our chances of a top-10 finish this weekend
are very realistic.”
For the third time this season, Sheltra and his Whitesville,
Kentucky based Sheltra Motorsports operation will bring
a Dodge Charger to the track. This time however, the team
will bring a new piece to the track. With two top-10s already
in the books under the Dodge banner, the team is hoping
for the same type of results this weekend. In their first
two Chrysler-nameplate races of the season, the Dodge program
rewarded the team with finishes of seventh and eighth at
Kentucky Speedway and Kansas Speedway respectively. The
new manufacturer also catapulted Sheltra to record a career
best qualifying effort (Kansas) while also leading the field
for four laps at the 1.5-mile race track of Kansas Speedway.
“I’m confident in our Dodge program,”
added Sheltra. “Even though we’re not bringing
the same car to the track this weekend, I’m not worried
at all. The Sheltra Motorsports team has been working hard
all year long. They’ve brought top-10 cars each and
every week and I don’t expect anything to change this
weekend.”
Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring Sheltra Motorsports
chassis number 11 to Pocono Raceway this weekend. This is
a new automobile to the team acquired during the off-season.
Chassis number 15 will serve as the team’s back-up
automobile. The team ran that model at the open ARCA RE/MAX
Series test at Michigan International Speedway last week.
Sheltra sounded, “This is another Penske Racing Dodge.
They have good pieces, very good pieces. Everyone’s
seen that with our car at Kansas and Kentucky, hopefully
we can take this car to victory lane on Saturday.”
With finishes of 22nd, 24th and 11th at Pocono Raceway
in the past two years, the 22-year old knows an exceptional
run will help him climb the point’s ladder approaching
the half-way mark into the 2008 season. Currently, Sheltra
is 150 points from the top-spot and only 60 markers from
the top-five currently locked by John Wes Townley.
“I’ve been saying it all here, the point’s
are tight. One wrong move and you could be out of the top-10.
I think I’ve improved tremendously as driver this
year. With the help of my team and spotter Kevin Huffines,
I’ve become a smarter racer and that has awarded us
the finishes we’ve earned so far this season. I need
to keep that mentality in check again this weekend. We need
to come out of Pocono with a top-10 finish.”
Entering Pocono, Sheltra has 32 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts
to his credit with a career best finish of second at Toledo
Speedway (May 2008) with two additional top-five finishes
(third) at Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2007), (fourth)
at Berlin Raceway (July 2007) while holding additional top-10s
at Kentucky Speedway (May 2008), Kansas Speedway (April
2008), Iowa Speedway (April 2008), Kentucky Speedway (June
2007), DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (September 2007) and Toledo
Speedway (October 2007). An eighth place qualifying effort
at Kansas Speedway (April 2008) is Sheltra’s best
time trials efforts to date. He has controlled the ARCA
field once for four laps.
The Pocono ARCA 200 (200 miles/80 laps) is the eighth of
21 events on the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The first
of two events held at Pocono Raceway this season is a two-day
show. Practice begins Friday, June 6th with an hour and
forty minute practice session planned from 10:15 a.m.-11:55
a.m. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is slated to begin
at 1:45 p.m. The field will take the green flag on Saturday,
June 7th shortly after 1:00 p.m. The race will same-day
tape delayed on SPEED scheduled to air Saturday night at
8:00 p.m. Additional race coverage including live timing
and scoring will be available online at arcaracing.com.
All times are local.
For more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit the newly re-launched
PatrickSheltra.com.
Patrick Sheltra, Sheltra Motorsports, Pocono Raceway
Notes of Interest:
· Sheltra Motorsports will run a mixture
of Dodge Chargers and Chevrolet Monte Carlos Chevrolet during
the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series season. For Pocono, Sheltra
Motorsports will run a Dodge Charger that will make its
ARCA RE/MAX Series debut this weekend. The car was acquired
from Penske Racing during the off-season. The car was previously
driven by 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman. RC Consultants
will provide the horsepower for the sophomore ARCA team.
· Sheltra currently maintains a point’s position
in the top-10 (eighth) heading into Pocono Raceway this
weekend. Sheltra moved into the top-10 in the series’
second race of the season at Salem Speedway and has remained
locked in the top-10 since. The Indiantown, Florida native
is just 60 markers from entering the top-five and 150 credits
from the number one position held by SunTrust Rookie-of-the-Year
candidate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Last year, the then 21-year
old superstar finished seventh in the championship standings
competing in 22 of the scheduled 23 events.
· Sheltra will make 320 left hand turns on Saturday
afternoon, four hundred eighty (480) less turns than the
series last outing, the Hantz Group 200 by Federated Car
Care at the .5-mile track of Toledo Speedway last month.
· In addition to running a full 2008 ARCA RE/MAX
Series schedule, Sheltra will also run a limited schedule
in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and compete in selected
dirt late model events (UMP and WoO Series) throughout the
United States.
About Sheltra Motorsports:
Sheltra Motorsports (sheltramotorsports.com)
is a three-tier Motorsports operation consisting of dirt
and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 21-year old
native of Indiantown, Florida competes in the UMP and WoO
(Dirt) Series; while also running a full schedule in the
ARCA RE/MAX Series (No. 60) and a limited schedule in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (No. 35). 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 Whitesville, Kentucky.
Sheltra Motorsports Quick
Facts:
Team Name: Sheltra Motorsports, No. 60 Dodge
Charger
Driver: Patrick Sheltra, Indiantown, Florida
Car Owner: Grace Sheltra, Indiantown, Florida
Crew Chief: John Hayden
Team Manager: Keith Strunk
Marketing Partners: Ferguson Pipe Enterprises,
Inc, FloraGanics, American Concrete Industries, Inc, Hardie
Pipe, The Casite Company, C.J. Rayburn Race Cars, J&S
Bulk Transportation, Inc., US Construction Supply Corp.,
Martin County Petroleum, Sheltra & Son Construction,
Sheltra Cattle Company, Recycling Services, Aaron’s
Outdoors, Indiantown Marina, All About Flowers, Speed Media,
Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, DMC Graphics and Purcell Tire
& Rubber.
TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 830.261.1215
EMAIL: knight849@aol.com
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