| Strict Agenda For Patrick Sheltra At Mansfield
“Mr. Showtime Eyes Second Win Of 2009
For Pops”
MANSFIELD, Ohio (June 18, 2009) - - You can say that Patrick
Sheltra is taking every measure to better his 2009 ARCA
RE/MAX Series season and with improvement comes a lot of
hard work. The Indiantown, Florida native hopes that the
hard work will pay off in Saturday night’s inaugural
Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA 200 presented by National Speed
Sport News.
Sheltra who didn’t even know if he would be racing
the rest of the year following a horrific wreck at Daytona
International Speedway bounced back with a Cinderella win
at Salem Speedway. Since then, the season has been a rollercoaster
filled with thrills and spills.
However, if there’s one place where Sheltra strongly
feels that he can put his season back in high gear, Mansfield
Motorsports Park (MMP) might just be the place. And Sheltra
has good reason to feel the way he does. Earlier this week,
Sheltra was joined by just three other ARCA RE/MAX Series
teams for a test at the half-mile oval in Central Ohio and
the results of the free practice session left Sheltra itching
for more.
“I’m glad that we tested at Mansfield,”
said Sheltra, who spent his week hanging around his Sheltra
Motorsports dirt team in Richmond, Indiana. “I feel
like we have a slight advantage over a majority of the field
with seven hours of good hard testing. That could easily
be the difference on whether or not we win the race on Saturday
night.”
Short track racing has become a favorite for the 23-year
old phenom and that’s not surprising considering his
results this year. Other than Toledo Speedway last month
where Sheltra was punted and wrecked while running in the
top-10, he has recorded a first and a second in back-to-back
races at Salem Speedway and Rockingham Speedway respectively.
“Overlooking Toledo, I believe we’ve been the
team to beat on the short tracks,” sounded Sheltra,
who enters the ninth race of the season locking sixth in
the championship standings. “I consider anything a
mile and under a short track and we were able to back up
our momentum from Salem with a runner-up position at Rockingham.
We’re taking the same car we raced at Rockingham to
Mansfield this weekend and it’s a pretty slick car.
I hope the race fans come out because it’s going to
be one heck of a show!”
Knowing the characteristics of Mansfield Motorsports Park
from reviewing past NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races,
Sheltra knows that being on top of his game followed by
smart calls from the pit box could determine his finishing
position this weekend.
“John (Hayden, crew chief) made the call that won
us the race at Salem. He knows how to play out these short
tracks and I know he’s going to put us in the same
position again this weekend. It’s my job though to
go out there, qualifying strong, race smart and clean and
be around when it counts.”
Not only is Sheltra racing for a win for his Buffalo Wings
& Rings Racing team, but “Mr. Showtime”
as he’s known in the garage is looking to give his
Dad or Pops as he’s referred to with the Sheltra Motorsports
clan the ultimate Father’s Day present.
“Winning for Pops again would be good,” sounded
Sheltra. “Pops has worked his tail off to make a lot
of this happen and I cannot thank him enough. Putting our
car in victory lane again Saturday night would be another
way of me showing my gratitude for everything he does. Pops
and Mom (car owner Grace Sheltra) were there for the win
at Salem Speedway, I want to give them that satisfaction
again and again.”
Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring Sheltra chassis
number 6 this weekend at Mansfield Motorsports Park. This
is the same piece the team finished second with at Rockingham
Speedway in April. The team converted the former Joe Gibbs
Racing chassis from a Chevrolet to a Dodge Charger during
the off-season. It will be run for the third time in Sheltra’s
career. Chassis number 5 will serve as the team’s
back-up automobile. That former Joe Gibbs Racing entry is
the same automobile that Sheltra rocketed to his first victory
at Salem Speedway earlier in April.
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.
The Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA 200 presented by National
Speed Sport News (200 laps / 100 miles) is the ninth of
21 events on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The first
ever ARCA race at Mansfield Motorsports Park is a one-day
show. Practice begins Saturday June 20 with an hour and
half practice session planned from 2:30 p.m. – 4:00
p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is set for later
in the day slated to begin at 5:00 p.m. The event will take
the green flag shortly after 8:30 p.m. The event will not
be televised however flag-to-flag coverage will be broadcasted
live through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com.
All times are local.
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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