ARCA RE/MAX Series, TOYOTA ARCA 150
Nashville Superspeedway
Lebanon, Tennessee
Open Practice (Test) Notes & Quotes
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Under extremely muggy and humid conditions, 18 ARCA RE/MAX Series drivers participated in the seventh open test session of the 2008 season at Nashville Superspeedway preparing their automobiles for the 14th event on the 2008 ARS calendar, the TOYOTA ARCA 150 set to commence on Saturday, August 9th shortly after 4:30 p.m. EST live on SPEED.

The series returns to the facility for the 15th time since 2001 with ARCA driver Patrick Sheltra poised to make his third career start at the 1.333-mile concrete oval.

Last year in the spring event, Sheltra aboard his familiar No. 60 Chevrolet entry, qualified an impressive 11th but faced issues during the course of the 150-mile event and logged a 25th place finish.

Looking for a rebound four months later, Sheltra returned to the track looking for revenge. After posting a solid 16th qualifying, Sheltra remained strong during the course of the 113-lap event to score a respectable 13th place finish.

Returning to Country’s “Music City”, Sheltra hopes to score the platinum performance when the ARS reinvades Lebanon in three weeks.

Unlike the previous season, Sheltra will not bring a Chevrolet for race competition. Instead, Sheltra and his Whitesville, Kentucky based Sheltra Motorsports team will bring a Dodge Charger with their signature Camouflage paint scheme. The team will have run the Chrysler nameplate in six ARCA events this season including Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and Pocono Raceway heading into ARCA’s seventh year of competing at Nashville Superspeedway.

Teams took to the track shortly after 9:00am local time with the complete day of testing scheduled to end at 5:00pm local time.

Here are some notes and quotes from today’s session:
PATRICK SHELTRA, NO. 60 FERGUSON PIPE ENTERPRISES, INC.-FLORAGANICS-THE CASITE COMPANY DODGE CHARGER:

SHELTRA: (ON NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY) “It’s a nice track but I’ve always seemed to struggle a little bit here, hence that’s why we are here testing today. Nashville Superspeedway is the only concrete track that we run on the whole year, so you have to prepared for what curves this track may throw at you. We learned an awful lot today and we’ll take it back and utilize it for the race next month.”

SHELTRA: (ON THE HEAT AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY) “Heat is nothing new to me. Living in Florida, I’m used to living in these types of conditions. The biggest thing is staying hydrated and in a cool shaded area whenever possible. It’s been a hot one today.”

SHELTRA: (ON TUESDAY’S TEST SESSION) “Hasn’t been bad. We picked up a great deal from early in the morning session to right before we took a break from lunch. The track is real greasy and hot in the afternoon, so I’m not sure what the times will do. We’re just looking to get in the same ball-field as everyone else, then we can come back next month and adjust and try to be near the top.”

SHELTRA: (WHAT IS THE KEY TO MASTERING NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY) “Patience (laughs). Like I said earlier, Nashville Superspeedway is no joke. It’s a plenty fast track with a lot of grip but this place can throw you for a loop if you don’t have the perfect setup. Good horsepower and a strong intermediate car are a plus to racing here. It’s always been a race of survival too. If you can survive, you can usually walk away with a good finish.”

SHELTRA: (ON THE DODGE PROGRAM) “Our Dodge program has been strong all year. We’ve run upfront with them all year and there’s little hesitation in my mind to think we won’t do the same here at Nashville. The switch to Dodge has been a big plus for us on the bigger tracks and we’re hoping for a good finish in the TOYOTA ARCA 150.”

SHELTRA: (HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR ARCA TO COME BACK TO NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY YEAR AFTER YEAR?) “This is still a relatively new track to the schedule. It’s only been open like seven years and the ARCA RE/MAX Series has been here each and every year. That says a lot. I know we’ve always had two events here in the past and this year we only have one. I don’t agree with that. Hopefully we can go back to two races in 2009.”

SHELTRA: (HOW IMPORTANT IS A SPOTTER AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY) “Things happen here in a hurry, so a spotter is critical. I have a great spotter in Kevin Huffines and he does a whale of a job for me on a weekly basis. He has done a good job guiding me through some of the messes out there this year. We make a good team.”

SHELTRA: (YOU’LL BE FEATURED IN THE NASHVILLE PROGRAM IN AUGUST) “Yeah, that’s really cool. My Public Relations Representative Chris Knight has a great relationship with the track so he was able to make it happen where I will be one of the featured ARCA drivers in the program. I was also in the race program at Rockingham and I think we’re working on a couple more before season’s end. It’s an added bonus to the team and our marketing partners too. Exposure is something we always welcome .”

SHELTRA: (POINTS ARE EXTREMLY TIGHT, WHAT CAN AN ARCA RACE AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY DO TO YOUR SEASON?) “The way the points are going right now, a good race at Nashville can keep you on the stage at the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship banquet at the end of the year. A bad race can keep you off. So it’s important for our team to get a good finish.”

SHELTRA: (ON SEASON THUSFAR) “We started off the season on a good note and we’ve had some issues the last couple weeks. We really need to bounce back and get as high as we can in the standings. I’m really proud of my Sheltra Motorsports team though. Every race we’ve competed in this season, we have run in the top-10, so that means a lot to me. The team gives me good racecars every week and that’s what is important.”

SHELTRA: (ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO WALK AWAY WITH THE GIBSON GUITAR) “It would make a nice trophy to add to my collection. Nashville Superspeedway really has great trophies and to add that Gibson Guitar would be huge. Not to mention a win in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, that would be big especially with how competitive it has been this year. We’ll be a factor for that trophy when we come back, guaranteed.”

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 22-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 NASCAR. 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.

Sheltra Motorsports Quick Facts:
Team Name: Sheltra Motorsports, No. 60 Dodge Charger

Driver: Patrick Sheltra, Indiantown, Florida

Car Owner: Grace Sheltra, Indiantown, Florida

Marketing Partners: Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant, Groupe Beton Brunet, Ferguson Pipe Enterprises, Inc, FloraGanics, American Concrete Industries, Inc, The Casite Company, J&S Bulk Transportation, Inc., US Construction Supply Corp., CP Concrete Products of the Palm Beaches, 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.

Crew Chief: John Hayden

Team Manager: Keith Strunk

TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 830.261.1215
EMAIL: knight849@aol.com