| Patrick Sheltra Returns To The
Tricky Triangle Aiming To Make Statement
LONG POND, Pennsylvania (July 27, 2010) - - The last time
ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards pro driver
Patrick Sheltra visited the 2.5-mile triangle of Pocono
(Pa.) Raceway, he left the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper
200 with the ARCA championship point’s lead intact.
Returning to Long Pond, Pennsylvania just seven weeks later,
two mechanical hiccups have slipped the Indiantown, Florida
native to fourth in the overall chase. Despite the unexpected
setbacks Sheltra is poised to make a dent in Saturday’s
Weis Markets 125 and re-ignite his Sheltra Motorsports team’s
championship drive with 10 races remaining on the 2010 calendar.
Armed with the same No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson
Pipe Toyota Camry that Sheltra boasted a impressive fourth
place finish in the 50th ARCA race held at the racetrack
on June 5 that optimizes a road course feel instead of an
oval, Sheltra is banking on the team’s success in
June to return in a double-header feature that will follow
upon the completion of the inaugural NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series (NCWTS) Pocono Mountains 125.
“It’s good to be going back to Pocono,”
said Sheltra, who make his ninth career start at Pocono
this weekend. “We had a super good Toyota Camry the
last time we were here and I feel like with what we learned
in the race and what additional information we acquired
back at the shop, we should be able to put our year back
on track and hopefully be fighting for our first win of
the season.”
An engine failure at Iowa Speedway (July 10) and a rear-end
failure in the most recent ARCA Racing Series event at Mansfield
Motorsports Park (July 17) has obviously left Sheltra bruised,
but the confident driver is vowing to keep his team’s
morale high and not let the magic his team embraced in the
first eighth races of the year completely disappear.
“I have a great team behind me and I cannot do it
without all of them,” sounded Sheltra, who made his
debut at the track nicknamed “The Tricky Triangle”
in 2006 driving for the renowned Ken Schrader.
“We showed from the moment we unloaded at Daytona
(Fla.) International Speedway in February that we were here
to beaten and were not going to go down without a fight.
Yeah, the last two races have hurt us, but the circumstances
were really out of our hands. You cannot predict what happened
to us in the last two races, sometimes that’s just
how the cookie crumbles. We’re definitely down but
no way out. We’re remaining confident and have re-focused
our efforts on the second half of the ARCA season were we
plan to be making similar statements that we made in the
first half. No question tough, we’re also hoping to
raise the bar just a little bit more on the performance
end that will enable us to grab that coveted championship
at Rockingham in October.”
Traditionally, the summer trip for the ARCA Racing Series
at Pocono presents an 80-lap contest but with the addition
of the NCWTS to the track’s Saturday lineup, the ARCA
race has been shortened to just 50 laps or 125 miles setting
the stage for a fierce sprint at being crowned the winner
of round 11 in 2010.
“It’s a short race,” offered Sheltra.
“It’s going to be over quick. You cannot afford
to have any errors anywhere. You have to be on your game
as well as on your toes and stay out of any carnage and
just hope that you won’t have any other downfalls
fall your way. I’m used to short races on the dirt,
so who knows, this just might play into our favor.”
Locked 125 markers behind point’s leader Justin Marks,
Sheltra was quick to mention that there is still a long
way to go this season. “We crossed the half-way mark
of the year at Mansfield. We have a very diverse schedule
coming up. From the big track of Pocono to our shortest
track to Berlin (Mi.) Raceway to the road course at New
Jersey Motorsports Park and even the two dirt races, anything
could and probably will happen. Realistically, this championship
is still up for grabs; we just want to have a shot at it.”
Sheltra Motorsports is led by veteran crew chief Jon Wolfe.
Cost-effective marketing partnerships are still available
for the remainder of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season.
For additional information, please contact brandon@patricksheltra.com
or marketing@patricksheltra.com.
Entering Pocono, Sheltra has 77 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
30 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 Weis Markets 125 (50 laps / 125 miles) is the 11th
of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series schedule. The
51st ARCA race at Pocono Raceway is a two-day show. Practice
begins Friday, July 30 with an hour and forty minute practice
session planned from 10:15 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. Menards Pole
by Ansell qualifying is set for later in the day slated
to begin at 1:40 p.m. The event will take the green flag
on Saturday, July 31 shortly after 3:00 p.m. The event will
be televised live on SPEED with additional weekend (practice
/ qualifying) and race coverage broadcasted live 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.
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.
TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
P: 239.834.9797
E: chris@patricksheltra.com
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