| Patrick Sheltra Expects Intense Race At Mansfield
“Mr. Showtime Says Fans Are In For A Treat”
MANSFIELD, Ohio (June 15, 2009) - - “It’s going
to be one heck of a show.” Those are the words from
veteran ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Patrick Sheltra previewing
Saturday’s inaugural Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA 200
at Mansfield Motorsports Park.
Sheltra and his Whitesville, Kentucky based team spent
Monday testing at the Mansfield, Ohio track. Immediately,
Sheltra, driver of the No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings
Dodge Charger grew a liking to the half-mile oval and feels
that Saturday night could be the night that his team returns
to victory lane.
Earlier this year, Sheltra mastered Salem Speedway in his
ARCA return after a massive incident in the season opener
at Daytona International Speedway. Since the win, Sheltra
has had several good runs but the strong finishes have been
overshadowed by a couple of poor finishes due to circumstances
beyond the team’s control.
Back to good ole’ classic short track racing, Sheltra
is hoping to once again showcase his short track skills.
“The Mansfield race should be pretty exciting for
the fans,” said Sheltra, who joined three other ARCA
RE/MAX Series teams for the test on Monday. “The track
is very unique. It seems that there is a couple different
racing lines. I kind of compare this place to a Toledo,
but it really isn’t a Toledo. So, if I had to compare
it to a track that we compete on, Toledo would be my choice.
Realistically though, this place is like nothing I’ve
ever raced on before, dirt or asphalt.”
Taking to the track just after 8:00 a.m. local time, Sheltra
under the direction of crew chief John Hayden started with
a very conservative setup before hammering down and finding
that perfect setup that would bring an opportunity to put
the team back in the spotlight.
“We kept getting faster and faster throughout the
day,” offered Sheltra. “Around 3:30 p.m., the
car felt real good and we feel our qualifying run was strong
enough for a good starting position, so I’m looking
forward to Saturday.”
When asked if the Indiantown, Florida native was afraid
of anything heading into the ninth race of the season he
commented, “I’m a little concerned about lap
cars. I don’t think there isn’t a lot of room
for them. Don’t get me wrong, they have every right
to be racing but if you have some faster cars that catch
up to them quickly, it’s going to make it real interesting.
Like I’ve preached, it should be a good show for the
fans. They will get their money’s worth.”
After exiting Michigan last weekend with a 33rd place finish
after the motor expired on his No. 60 Buffalo Wings &
Rings TOYOTA Camry, Sheltra is looking for a little redemption
this weekend.
“I would love to come here this weekend and gain
some points. We need to do that. We’re on a little
bit of a roller coaster ride right now. We’ve had
some bad luck and that’s what it’s been, bad
luck. Hopefully luck will be on our side Saturday night
and we’ll get to put another tally next to win for
the season,” concluded Sheltra.
Entering Mansfield, Sheltra has 54 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts
to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway
(April 2009). Sheltra also holds second place efforts at
Rockingham Speedway (April 2009), Toledo Speedway (May 2008)
and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (September 2008) with
five additional top-five finishes, (third) at Pocono Raceway
(June 2009), (fourth) at Toledo Speedway (October 2008),
(fifth) at Talladega Superspeedway (October 2008), (third)
at Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2007) and (fourth)
at Berlin Raceway (July 2007) while holding additional top-10s
at Kentucky Speedway (May 2009), Nashville Superspeedway
(August 2008), Michigan International Speedway (June 2008),
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). 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 more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit PatrickSheltra.com.
For additional input on Buffalo Wings & Rings, please
connect to Buffalowingsandrings.com or call 513.831.WING.
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 RE/MAX Series (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 Whitesville, Kentucky.
About Buffalo Wings &
Rings:
Buffalo Wings & Rings is the fastest-growing privately
owned franchised chain of restaurants in the nation serving
Buffalo-style chicken wings, onion rings, burgers, chicken
and salads. Founded in 1988 in Cincinnati, OH, Buffalo Wings
& Rings operates 44 franchised restaurants in the United
States. Buffalo Wings & Rings was ranked the #1 fastest
growing restaurant chain nationwide in the July 2008 issue
of Restaurant Business, and ranked in the top 500 franchises
in the January 2009 issue of Entrepreneur. For more information,
visit www.buffalowingsandrings.com or call 513-831-WING.
TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
P: 239.834.9797
E: chris@patricksheltra.com
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