| Patrick Sheltra Hopes Momentum
Helps Him Blow Away Competition At Chicagoland
“Sheltra Still Grinning Following Win At Springfield;
Championship Becomes Focus”
JOLIET, Illinois (August 25, 2010) – After
banking his first win of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series (ARS)
presented by RE/MAX and Menards season this past Sunday
at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, 24-year old Patrick Sheltra
strolls into Chicagoland Speedway this week looking to keep
his momentum train rolling and capture his third career
win in Friday’s Ansell Protective Gloves 150.
After running a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and a Dodge Charger
respectively in the two most recent ARCA Racing Series events,
Sheltra returns to the potent Toyota Camry for his fifth
career start at the 1.5-mile speed plant. The Indiantown,
Florida native is hoping that his return to the Japanese
nameplate will result in closing the gap in the championship
chase with just a handful amount of races remaining this
year.
“I always look forward to Chicagoland, but probably
more so this year than ever,” said Sheltra, who has
been extremely busy with the media since notching his second
career win in the Allen Crowe 100. “To head back to
a place like Chicagoland fresh off a win keeps your confidence
up and direction intact. We finished ninth last August at
Chicagoland but we weren’t pleased with the result.
In a sense, I look to finish what we started on Friday.”
The Sheltra Motorsports team led by veteran crew chief
Jon Wolfe elected not to participate in the “Windy
City” open-test at Chicagoland Speedway a couple weeks
ago. Although, Sheltra knows that any extra track time is
crucial, the ARCA pro is comfortable with the team’s
decision.
“We’ve been very good on the bigger tracks
this year,” added Sheltra. “We opted to turn
our attention to some of the other races including Springfield
(last weekend) in lieu of the Chicagoland test, so I would
like to say, it’s already paid off with a win. It’s
fair to say though, we won’t exactly know where we
stand with the field until practice gets underway on Thursday
afternoon but thankfully there is another practice on Friday
morning that will allow us the opportunity to fine tune
our No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Toyota Camry for the race.”
A year ago, Sheltra found himself fifth in the ARCA Racing
Series championship chase and realistically out of the championship
chase. Fast forward 12 months later, Sheltra is fourth in
the title run and well within reach of the coveted championship
crown, stalking leader Frank Kimmel by a mere 40 points.
The NASCAR-bound driver knows however that there is no room
for error with his fourth season of ARCA competition beginning
to wind down. He is though hoping that the momentum the
team gained at Springfield will continue and spike them
forward in the chase for the championship.
“Looking at the points, there is at least eight of
us that really and truly can honestly win this thing,”
Sheltra added. “That’s impressive for the ARCA
Racing Series. It’s just been that good of a season
for them. No one has walked away with the wins or the championship
which has our series being looked at in a lot of positive
ways. The race on Friday night will come down to staying
out of trouble and having a good handling car. Ted (Musgrave)
was my driver coach here last year and he told me something
that I thought was impossible. He told me to try it and
I did. To my shock, disbelief and advantage it worked. I’m
keeping what he told me in the back of my head. Maybe, just
maybe that could be the extra tip that puts us back in victory
lane for the second consecutive race.”
If one championship isn’t enough to worry about,
Sheltra is fighting for two additional championship crowns
within the overall championship fight. Chicagoland marks
the last event in the Bill France Four Crown. The Bill France
Four Crown consists of the best average finish of an ARCA
Racing Series driver at four uniquely different race tracks.
Berlin (Mi.) Raceway, a tight .4-mile short track started
off the four-race stretch followed by a road course event
at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Last weekend, the series
played on the dirt at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and
this weekend the stars and cars of the ARCA Racing Series
will tackle Chicagoland Speedway, a fast and demanding 1.5-mile
oval. Currently, Sheltra is fourth in the rundown, just
45 points behind Joey Coulter who leads the overall standings.
Additionally, the Sheltra Motorsports team leads the ARCA
Racing Series speedway challenge sector which consists of
the best overall averages performances of a full-time ARCA
Racing Series team on tracks 1.5-mile and greater. Chicagoland
fits into the program with the No. 60 team leading the No.
32 Win-Tron Racing team by 65 markers with two speedway
events remaining (Chicagoland and Kansas).
Multiple cost-effective marketing partnership packages
are still available for the 2010 ARCA Racing Series and
NASCAR seasons for Patrick Sheltra. Let Sheltra Motorsports
show you how to find victory lane in more ways than one!
For additional information on how to be apart of our winning
organization, please contact Brandon Hinson (brandon@patricksheltra.com)
or email marketing@patricksheltra.com.
Entering Chicagoland, Sheltra has 81 ARCA Racing Series
presented by RE/MAX and Menards starts to his credit with
two career victories at Salem (Ind.) Speedway (April 2009)
and the Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2010). During
his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated 17 top-fives and
posted 33 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
eight times for 188 laps.
The Ansell Protective Gloves 150 (100 laps / 150 miles)
is the 15th of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series
presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The 10th ARCA
event held at Chicagoland Speedway is a two-day show. Practice
begins Thursday, August 26 with a one hour and twenty minute
practice session planned from 4:30 p.m. - 5:50 p.m. A Happy
Hour practice run has been set for Friday morning August
27 from 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell
qualifying is slated to begin at 11:30 a.m. The field will
take the green flag shortly after 6:00 p.m. The event will
be televised live on SPEED with additional broadcast coverage
including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,308 race
for the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards
since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the
ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented
by ARCANation.com. All times are local.
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 (Official
Patrick Sheltra Fan Page) by clicking here. Tweet with Patrick
Sheltra on Twitter (@patricksheltra) at twitter.com/patricksheltra.com.
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
Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Racing Series presented
by RE/MAX and Menards (No. 60) and a limited schedule in
the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).
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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