| Patrick Sheltra Ready To Invade Rockingham Speedway
“Fourth In Points; Sheltra Charging To The Front”
ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina (April 30, 2008) - - After a
strong start to the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series season, sophomore
driver Patrick Sheltra looks to keep the momentum rolling
as the series returns to Rockingham Speedway often nicknamed
“The Rock” for the first time in nearly 35 years
for the running of Sunday’s Carolina 500K.
The first four races of the year have yielded a finish
no worse of 15th and two consecutive top-10 finishes at
Iowa Speedway and Kansas Speedway respectively. With a nice
turn around from the team’s inaugural year of competition
last year, the Whitesville, Kentucky based operation is
ready to step it up another notch and invade victory lane
Sunday afternoon.
“I’m ready for The Rock,” said Sheltra,
who netted his seventh career top-10 finish last Friday
at Kansas Speedway. “This race is probably one of
the biggest of the year and we’ve taken the measures
to prepare for it. Every second of track time will be crucial
and we’re banking on the momentum that we’ve
had this season to roll over this weekend.”
Testing has obviously played into the hands of the Sheltra
Motorsports team this season and they are hoping it will
again pay off in the fifth race of the 2008 season.
“We participated in the two-day test in March and
it went solid,” added Sheltra. “We played with
a lot of different combinations and I know what we learned
at the test not to mention what we’ve learned as a
team this season will help keep this team alive in Sunday’s
event.”
With 312 laps scheduled for the Carolina 500K event, Sheltra
knows that patience is critical this weekend at Rockingham
Speedway, probably more than any other event on the season’s
calendar.
“You can’t expect to win this race in 100 laps,”
Sheltra sounded. “I have to keep it in my head that
this is a long race, extremely long race. We just have to
keep the tires on our car, stay out of the wrecks and be
around for the final fifty laps. If we can accomplish those
goals, we’re going to be in great shape.”
Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring back the same
piece the team tested with in March. The No. 60 Chevrolet
Monte Carlo SS is an in-house automobile built by members
of the Sheltra Motorsports clan. Chassis number 4145 will
serve as the team’s back-up automobile. Sheltra ran
that former ppc Racing entry at Springfield (Illinois State
Fairgrounds), DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and Berlin Raceway
last year.
“I’m confident in the car’s capabilities
this weekend,” remarked Sheltra. “The team has
been working hard on this piece since the test in March
and I think the adjustments they’ve made will make
us a contender in Sunday’s race.”
With a lot on the line this weekend at Rockingham, Sheltra
is keeping his composure and the long-term goal in check.
“We’re here to win a championship,” Sheltra
responded. “In the four races this year, we’ve
run in the top-10 and finished in the top-15. There’s
absolutely no reason we can’t do the same this weekend.
Sitting fourth in points is huge for our team, huge. We
can’t afford to have a mistake that has the potential
of sinking our early season success.”
Sheltra added, “We want to conquer The Rock. Not
the other way around.”
As an added bonus this weekend, Sheltra will be featured
in the inaugural Carolina 500K race program.
Entering Rockingham, Sheltra has 29 ARCA RE/MAX Series
starts to his credit with a career best finish of third
on the dirt at Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2007)
with an additional top-five finish (fourth) at Berlin Raceway
(July 2007) while holding additional top-10s at 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.
The Carolina 500K (312 miles/312 laps) is the fifth of
21 events on the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The return
of racing to Rockingham Speedway is a three-day show. Practice
begins Friday, May 2 with a three hour practice session
planned from 2:00-5:00 p.m. First round of ARCA SIM Factory
pole qualifying is set to begin Saturday, May 3rd at 10:00
a.m. for positions 1-25. An additional second round qualifying
for positions 26-41 has been etched in for 2:30 p.m. with
a final “Happy Hour” practice session scheduled
from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The field will take the green
flag shortly after 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 4. The race
will be televised live on SPEED (12:00 p.m. local) with
additional race coverage online at arcaracing.com
with extensive radio coverage through RaceTalkRadio.com
All times are local.
For more on Patrick Sheltra, please visit the newly re-launched
PatrickSheltra.com.
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.
Patrick Sheltra, Sheltra
Motorsports, Rockingham Speedway
Notes of Interest:
· Sheltra Motorsports will run a mixture of Chevrolet
Monte Carlos SS and Dodge Chargers during the 2008 ARCA
RE/MAX Series season. For Rockingham, Sheltra Motorsports
will run a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS that was built in-house
by the team last year. The organization tested in during
the two-day open test at the Rockingham, North Carolina
facility in March. Clements Automotive will provide the
horsepower for the sophomore ARCA team.
· Sheltra currently holds the highest points position
(fourth) that he has ever held in his ARCA RE/MAX Series
career. The Indiantown, Florida native is just 50 markers
from entering the top-three and 80 credits from the number
one position held by SunTrust Rookie-of-the-Year candidate
Matt Carter. Last year, the 21-year old superstar finished
seventh in the championship standings competing in 22 of
the scheduled 23 events.
· Sheltra will make 1,248 left hand turns on Sunday
afternoon, one-thousand one hundred forty eight (1,148)
more turns than last Friday afternoon at the 1.5-mile track
of Kansas Speedway.
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 (No. 35) and compete in selected dirt late
model events (UMP and WoO Series) throughout the United
States.
Sheltra Motorsports Quick
Facts:
Team Name: Sheltra Motorsports, No. 60 Chevrolet
Monte Carlo SS
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, 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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