Rick Sheltra Funeral Arrangements

What: Celebration of life for Richard “Pops” Sheltra
When: Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Where: Holy Cross Catholic Church (15939 SW 150th Street, Indiantown, Florida 34956).
Phone: 772.597.2740

Local Florist: Florida Petals of Okeechobee, 863.763.5051. In lieu of flowers, donations can also be made to the Ryder Trauma Center Burn Unit (1800 Northwest 10th Avenue Miami, FL 33136).

Any further questions, please contact Forest Hill Cemetery: 772.287.8484.

2010 ARCA Racing Series champion Patrick Sheltra will make his second-career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start Saturday afternoon in the sixth annual Coca-Cola 250 Powered By fred’s 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Sheltra, the Indiantown, Florida native practiced his No. 99 Bucked Up Apparel / PatrickSheltra.com Ford F-150 Friday morning in the 32nd position in the lone-two hour session of the weekend after mounting a lap of 54.418 seconds at 175.971 miles per hour. However in qualifying, the 25-year old nailed the 21st quickest effort by maneuvering his blue oval around the 2.66-mile speedway in 55.129 seconds or 173.702 miles per hour.

The T3R Racing team led by Motorsports veteran crew chief Cal Boprey started the day with a strict agenda. With 40 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams on the ground, the team would have to beat four other competitors in order to earn a berth into tomorrow’s race. After some routine adjustments, Boprey turned the reins to the three-time ARCA Racing Series winner where he impressed many in the garage with a solid time trials lap and attractable starting position. [more]

Making his return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) for the first time since 2007, last year’s ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards champion Patrick Sheltra aims to make a statement in Saturday afternoon’s sixth annual Coca-Cola 250 Powered By fred’s 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

The 25-year old Sheltra will drive the No. 99 Bucked Up Apparel / PatrickSheltra.com Ford F-150 for T3R. The Indiantown, Florida native will make just his second NASCAR appearance of 2011 on Saturday. In February, the driver nicknamed “Mr. Showtime” competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

It’s only fitting for Sheltra, also considered a dirt ace to return to action on a superspeedway where the fearless driver has impressed immensely at both restrictor plate tracks including last April at the 2.66-mile oval where Sheltra led his first career Nationwide laps driving for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard. He also finished second in the Talladega ARCA 250 after pushing fellow truck competitor Dakoda Armstrong to his first career ARCA Racing Series win last April en route to the championship. [more]

In his first ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards start since capturing the coveted ARCA championship at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway last October, Patrick Sheltra recorded a commendable fourth place finish at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in the Hantz Group 200 for Tony Marks Racing (TMR).

Sheltra, the Indiantown, Florida native was subbing in the No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports / VR-12 Dodge Charger for ARCA Rookie of the Year candidate Maryeve Dufault who was nursing a minor shoulder injury since being involved in a hard crash in the previous race at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.

With car owner Tony Marks calling upon the 25-year old to wheel the team’s race car, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone when the garage area considered the TMR team a sleeper for the 10th race of the 2011 season. 2010 champion crew chief Jon Wolfe made the trek with Sheltra up to the .4-mile oval where the duo notched a satisfying second-place finish the year before. [more]

Reining ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards champion Patrick Sheltra will return to competition Saturday night at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway behind the wheel of the No. 12 Mad Croc / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger for Tony Marks Racing (TMR) in the Hantz Group 200.

Sheltra, 25 will substitute ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year candidate Maryeve Dufault who is recovering from a minor shoulder injury sustained at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway two weeks ago. The 2010 ARCA champ will also evaluate the team’s ARCA program while also acting as a mentor and driver mentor for Tony Marks Racing’s primary driver Dufault and newcomer Jared Marks.

“In the best interest of Maryeve, we made a joint decision for her to skip Berlin, so she can fully recover and ready for our next race at Iowa Speedway,” said car owner Tony Marks. “I’ve talked to Patrick on multiple occasions throughout the year about possibly racing with us for a race or two and with the circumstances we’re faced with, we’re happy to have Patrick on-board this weekend. We also know that someone of Patrick’s caliber cannot only make this team stronger but also give Maryeve and Jared an enormous amount of input and guidance.” [more]

When Patrick Sheltra won the 2010 ARCA Racing Series crown, he realized one of his racing dreams- to become a champion. On Thursday, April 14, Sheltra will be honored for that accomplishment as a guest of honor at the 2011 International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) Induction Ceremony held at Talladega Superspeedway's SPEED Channel Dome.

Sheltra will be honored along with 2010 Driver of the Year Jimmie Johnson as the IMHOF welcomes the 2011 class, John Holman, Jan Opperman, Maurice Petty, Brian Redman and Rex White, to the Hall of Fame. The 2010 ARCA Racing Series Champion will be presented to guests at the Induction Ceremony by long-time racing veteran Ken Schrader.

"I want to thank the International Motorsports Hall of Fame for this great honor," said Sheltra. "It is such an honor to be here as this group of drivers, mechanics and team owners, some of the greatest names in motorsports, are inducted into the Hall of Fame." [more]

Patrick Sheltra left the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards test session at Talladega Superspeedway exactly where he ended the 2010 season--on the top. The 2010 ARCA Racing Series champion lapped the 2.66-mile track in a time of 50.575 seconds (189.343 mph), fastest of the 20 drivers to take laps around Talladega's high-banks.

While the test was originally planned to be held both Tuesday and Wednesday, rain forced ARCA officials to cancel the second day of testing, proving Tuesday's fast results that much more important for the 2010 championship-winning team. The Sheltra Motorsports team came to Talladega looking to get a new superspeedway car prepared for the ARCA Racing Series 250 on Friday, April 15.

"It's kind of a new era for us because we have switched our speedway program to Toyota," said crew chief Jon Wolfe. "The biggest thing was that we had the opportunity to draft with the new car. It was a little bit of a learning experience with the Toyota, and we struggled to find speed a little bit with single car runs, but we have a good game plane now in place for what needs to be done to be better. In the draft we were obviously pretty strong, but we lacked a little bit to be able to pull up on cars. All in all we were pretty happy with how the car drafted." [more]

Everything is different for Patrick Sheltra in 2011. While the 2010 ARCA Racing Series champion works to continue his career in the top ranks of NASCAR, he has a new role on his Sheltra Motorsports team in the ARCA Racing Series- team owner and driver coach.

While the 24-year-old driver is learning his new role at Sheltra Motorsports in 2011, there is no question where Sheltra belongs- behind the wheel of a racecar. Often described as an "old-school" racer, Sheltra's talent, aggressiveness, and ability to bring his racecar to the front of the field has drawn the attention of some of the top teams in NASCAR.

"I'm not only a driver, I'm a racer, and throughout my racing career I think I've proven that I'm going to do what I have to do to get the job done, no matter what it takes," said Sheltra. "At the end of the day it's about winning and being consistent, whether it's the race or the championship, and that's what I'm going to do." [more]

2010 ARCA Racing Series Champion Patrick Sheltra survived a late-race wreck in the DRIVE4COPD 300 to claim a 24th-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Having to qualify into the field on speed, Sheltra drove his No. 41 Rick Ware Racing (RWR) Ford around the 2.5-mile high-banked oval in a time of 50.873 seconds (176.911 mph). The time was good enough to get Sheltra into the field, lining up in the 35th position.

When the green flag dropped to signal the start of the 2011 NNS season, Sheltra maintained position for the first 15 laps while struggling with the power in his No. 41 Ford. The first yellow of the 200-mile event came out on lap 15 for a multi-car wreck, giving the Rick Ware Racing team an opportunity to adjust on their Ford Mustang. [more]

Rick Ware Racing has signed 2010 ARCA Racing Series champion Patrick Sheltra to pilot the No. 41 Fuel Doctor Ford Mustang at Daytona International Speedway (DIS). Sheltra will hit the track with his Rick Ware Racing team on Saturday, February 19th for the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season-opening event, the DRIVE4COPD 300.

Sheltra, 24, won the 2010 ARCA Racing Series championship on the strength of two wins, 12 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in the 20 race ARCA schedule. The Indiantown, Florida-native is looking to continue that success in NASCAR's top-three touring series in 2011 while getting his season off to a strong start with Rick Ware Racing at DIS.

"I'm very excited for this opportunity with Rick Ware Racing for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Daytona. This was a last-minute deal that we put together for Daytona, and I appreciate Rick trusting me with his race car. I like superspeedways, and I'm looking forward to giving them a good performance with a solid finish." [more]

Even eight weeks after finishing the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards season as the series champion, Patrick Sheltra continues to enjoy every day like it's his first as the man on top. This evening, Sheltra was able to share that feeling with his family and his team, as he and Sheltra Motorsports were officially crowned ARCA champions at the series' annual Championship Awards Banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

Sheltra, of Indiantown, Fla., was among 17 drivers from the top 20 in the final point standings to be honored on stage, and left with more than $140,000 in point fund and special award earnings, as awarded by the numerous series partners at the ceremony.

To honor Sheltra's position as the 28th ARCA Racing Series champion in 58 seasons, ARCA president Ron Drager presented Sheltra a letter signed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist, as well as a series championship ring and a leather championship jacket featuring the series logo. As is the custom, a video tribute featured photographs from the champion's youth and ascent to championship status; a special addition to this season's edition included a special message from Sheltra's boyhood hero, four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon. [more]