| ARCA Points Leader Patrick Sheltra
Sixth In First Practice At Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa (July 10, 2010) - - Current ARCA Racing Series
(ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards points leader Patrick
Sheltra knocked off the sixth fastest time in his No. 60
Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry Saturday
morning in preparation for tonight’s Prairie Meadows
200 presented by SPEED on Mediacom at Iowa Speedway.
Sheltra enters the ninth race of the 2010 season on the
heels of eight consecutive top-10 finishes in a row including
his fifth top-five finish of the year with a third place
result in the most recent ARCA event at Michigan International
Speedway on June 11.
Set to make his fourth career start at the .875-mile Rusty
Wallace designed oval, Sheltra is happy with the way his
day has started out.
“This No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota
is a dream to drive,” offered Sheltra, whose retained
the top spot in the championship chase for the third consecutive
contest entering tonight’s festivities. “We
decided not to come out and test here but felt like we had
a setup that would point us in the right direction once
we unloaded. Needless to say, we are extremely pleased with
the way that car is performing. We need to make some very
minor tweaks to really dial our Toyota Camry in, but I’m
stoked about the race tonight.”
Saturday morning marked the first time that Sheltra has
ever landed inside the top-10 during a practice session
at Iowa Speedway. Previously, Sheltra posted a 16th place
effort in 2008 in the No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Dodge Charger.
“We didn’t make any qualifying runs or anything,
so I don’t think we’ve flexed our strongest
performance yet,” sounded Sheltra. “Jon (Wolfe,
crew chief) and all the guys on the Sheltra Motorsports
team really worked hard to give me a good car, no matter
what the circumstance. I think it’s a top-three car
for sure tonight.
The 24-year old ran 49 laps during the hour and thirty
five minute session posting his fastest lap of 24.343 seconds
at 129.401 miles per hour, .523 seconds behind session leader
Joey Coulter.
In addition to fighting for an impressive ninth consecutive
top-10 finish in a row, Sheltra will utilize tonight’s
event to also pay tribute to Matt Hawkins. The Indiantown,
Florida native has placed an “In Memory of Matt Hawkins”
decal on the b-post section of his Sheltra Motorsports machine
in remembrance for Hawkins, a former Iowa ARCA winner and
racing competitor. Hawkins, the 2008 winner at Newton, Iowa
facility lost his life in a tragic accidental gun-discharge
in February 2009. Thanks to long-time decal supplier, DMC
Graphics of Philpot, Kentucky, the Sheltra Motorsports brigade
has made the decal available for tonight’s competitors,
ARCA officials and track personnel.
“Matt’s with us all today,” Sheltra spoke.
“It’s pretty cool to see the entire field have
that decal on their car for tonight’s race. Hopefully
we’ll have a safe clean race and Matt can help guide
us to victory lane!”
Sheltra drew the 34th of 40 positions for Menards Pole
by Ansell qualifying slated for this evening (5:15 p.m.
local).
Cost-effective marketing partnerships are still available
for this weekend at Iowa Speedway and for the remainder
of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season. For additional information,
please contact brandon@patricksheltra.com or marketing@patricksheltra.com.
Entering Iowa, Sheltra has 75 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 Prairie Meadows 200 presented by SPEED on Mediacom
(200 laps / 175 miles) is the ninth of 20 events on the
2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards
schedule. The fifth ever ARCA race at Iowa Speedway is a
one-day show. A final fifty minute practice session has
been etched in from 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. Menards
Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 5:15 p.m.
The event will take the green flag shortly after 8:00 p.m.
The event will air live on SPEED. Additional race coverage
including live timing and scoring and audio broadcasting
throughout the day will be available through the ARCA Racing
Network (ARN) presented by ARCA Nation online at arcaracing.com.
All times are local (Central).
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
ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards (No.
60) and a limited schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
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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