| Patrick Sheltra Looks To Resurrect Season At
Iowa
“Sheltra Motorsports To Also Pay Tribute To Matt
Hawkins In Prairie Meadows 200”
NEWTON, Iowa (July 8, 2009) - - It’s not a secret
that Patrick Sheltra and his Sheltra Motorsports team have
suffered disappointment in the last two ARCA RE/MAX Series
events at Michigan International Speedway and Mansfield
Motorsports Park but after a break to catch their breath
and refocus, the team heads to Iowa Speedway looking to
put themselves back in victory circle in Saturday night’s
Prairie Meadows 200.
The finishes have the team down but not out. With the half-way
mark quickly approaching the teams for the 2009 ARCA season,
the Whitesville, Kentucky team feels that they’ve
experienced their fair share of bad luck and hope that Iowa
resurrects their season and puts the No. 60 Buffalo Wings
& Rings Dodge Charger up front and in contention.
Sheltra and Co. participated in the open test at Iowa Speedway
last week and while the team led by crew chief John Hayden
struggled for much of the day, the third year ARCA team
hit the jackpot late in the eight hour test and found a
setup they feel will put the team back in victory lane since
taking the top honors at Salem Speedway in April.
“We’re ready for Iowa. We hope Iowa is ready
for us,” said Sheltra, who made his third career NASCAR
Nationwide Series start at Daytona International Speedway
last Friday night. “We’ve experienced some foul
luck as of late. It has rattled the team’s confidence
but we are one of the hardest working team in the ARCA garage
and we will get through this spell of bad luck and put this
team back in contention mode.”
The Indiantown, Florida native added, “The Iowa test
turned out to be a success for us,” Sheltra said.
“We were fighting ourselves for most of the day but
then we threw the bathroom sink at the car and it worked.
We know where we need to start when we have practice on
Friday afternoon, so I think you’ll find the Buffalo
Wings & Rings car fast right off the truck.”
Sheltra has two prior ARCA RE/MAX Series starts at the
.875-mile track with a best effort of ninth occurring in
last year’s Prairie Meadows 250. While some would
be happy with a top-10 run, Sheltra wasn’t satisfied
which prompted the team to partake in the ARCA sanctioned
test.
“The cancellation of the ARCA race at Cayuga was
a blessing in disguise,” sounded Sheltra. “Because
of the hectic schedule we weren’t going to test at
Iowa but because of the race getting dropped, we concentrated
all of our efforts on the Iowa test. We’ve been good
at Iowa in the past but not great. This year you have to
be great to finish in the top-five. Testing at Iowa last
week should pay off for us in a big way.”
Currently occupying the eighth position, the lowest spot
since holding the 14th position after Daytona, Sheltra seeks
his fourth top-five finish of the season to gain some points
to inch up the ladder in the ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship
chase.
“There’s still a long way to go and Iowa presents
a opportunity for us to starting reeling in the points we
lost,” mentioned Sheltra. “You have to think
of Iowa like any other short track, surviving. Iowa can
be forgiving but you have to keep all the fenders on the
car and stay out of the mess. If we can do that, we should
be rewarded all the way around.”
While Sheltra is focused with the agenda on hand this weekend,
Sheltra and his posse are also reflecting and remembering
last year’s Prairie Meadows 250 winner Matt Hawkins
who died of an accidental gun discharge in February. Hawkins
and Sheltra raced together during the course of the 2008
season and Sheltra misses the competitiveness that Hawkins
brought to the table.
To offer their remembrance, the team will carry a decal
“In Memory of Matt Hawkins” this weekend at
Iowa.
“Matt Hawkins was a great racecar driver,”
offered Sheltra. “We raced several times together
last year and while we raced each other extremely hard,
we never touched. He was a great competitor for the ARCA
RE/MAX Series and we miss seeing his face at the track.
We’re going to try and win the race this weekend for
our marketing partners but also in honor of Matt as well.”
Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring Sheltra chassis
number 11 to Iowa Speedway this weekend. The primary machine
will be the same Dodge that Sheltra wheeled to a podium
finish of third at Pocono Raceway last month. The former
Penske Racing automobile will be run for just the fourth
time in Sheltra’s ARCA career. Chassis number 16 will
serve as the team’s back-up automobile. That former
Richard Childress Racing entry is a new addition to the
team’s fleet. The Whitesville, Kentucky based team
tested this Dodge Charger at Michigan International Speedway
in May. It has yet to see any ARCA race competition.
Entering Iowa, Sheltra has 55 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts
to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway
(April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated
nine top-fives and posted 18 top-10 finishes. 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 Prairie Meadows 200 (200 laps / 175 miles) is the 10th
of 21 events on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The
fourth ever ARCA race at Iowa Speedway is a two-day show.
Practice begins Friday July 10 with an hour and half practice
session planned from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Menards
Pole by Ansell qualifying is set for Saturday, July 11 slated
to begin at 4:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag
shortly after 8:00 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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