Still sitting on cloud nine since winning the last two ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards events at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) and Chicagoland Speedway respectively, 24-year old Patrick Sheltra now heads to the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds looking to pull off the Illinois sweep in Monday’s Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care.

And if there’s a track that perfectly fits Sheltra’s plateau to land his third consecutive victory and fourth of his career, the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds might just be the place. The Indiantown, Florida native will make his fourth career start at the one-mile clay oval on Monday. In his previous three starts, Sheltra has recorded a career best finish of second in 2008 behind nine-time champion Frank Kimmel. In 2007, Sheltra finished sixth after starting 12th.

The ARCA pro wants more than just a third consecutive win or the Illinois sweep, he wants revenge. Sheltra showed that he had the car to beat in last year’s Labor Day tradition but engine failure just 30 laps into the 100-lap feature leaves the Floridian with unfinished business. [more]

Even though Christmas isn’t officially for another three and a half months or so, ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards championship contender Patrick Sheltra will make a stop at the American Legion Post 306 in Metropolis, Illinois on Sunday, September 5 to start spreading awareness and gather interest for this year’s “Toys for Tots” campaign.

The 24-year Sheltra, the winner of the two most recent ARCA Racing Series events at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) and Chicagoland Speedway respectively will sign autographs, promote the upcoming (Monday, September 6) Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds with local media while also converse with the veterans of yesterday and today that allows Sheltra the freedom to do what he loves best, race.

“I’m really looking forward to Sunday,” said Sheltra, who notched his first speedway victory on August 27 at Chicagoland Speedway in the Ansell Protective Gloves 150. “I’ve done a lot of appearances in my racing career but this will be my first trip to an American Legion Post. I’m expecting to have a lot of fun but we plan to bring awareness not only to the ARCA race on Monday but also bring further attentiveness to the quickly approaching “Toys for Tots” program.” [more]

Riding high following his most recent win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) on Sunday, August 22, Patrick Sheltra leaned into Chicagoland Speedway this week looking to keep his momentum train chugging in Friday’s Ansell Protective Gloves 150. Sheltra though however did more than just chug; he literally dominated the 15th race of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards season and grabbed his second consecutive win of the year and third of his career in the 1,308 race held for the 57-year tour.

Sheltra, a native on Indiantown, Florida returned to Chicagoland Speedway looking to improve on his Sheltra Motorsports team ninth place effort in 2009. Despite not participating in the open-test session at the 1.5-mile speed plant a couple weeks ago, the 24-year old felt confident in the abilities of his No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Toyota Camry.

On practice Thursday, Sheltra negotiated the sixth fastest time before racking in the seventh fastest run in happy hour on Friday morning. The long-time ARCA pro though wasn’t concerned about the time sheets as he felt his Mooresville, North Carolina-based team had not yet shown their full potential. [more]

ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards championship contender Patrick Sheltra flexed his muscle during Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying Friday morning after whipping his No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Toyota Camry to a lap of 30.480 seconds transferring to a speed of 177.165 miles per hour good enough for the outside pole or the second position for today’s Ansell Protective Gloves 150.

After a early practice run this morning, Sheltra consulted with crew chief Jon Wolfe and his Sheltra Motorsports team about changes made to their Toyota Camry before the start of time trials and obviously the Indiantown, Florida was overjoyed with the changes and the overall outcome of his qualifications run.

“This isn’t about me, it’s about this Sheltra Motorsports team,” said Sheltra. “I’m just the lucky guy that is able to drive it. I’m super proud of their hard work. We were a little worried that because we didn’t test, we might have been behind the ball a little bit. We unloaded and strong and only have gotten stronger these last two days. We have a super car and I’m really looking forward to the race later today.” [more]

Despite posting the seventh fastest time overall in the one-hour “happy hour” session for the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards Friday morning, Patrick Sheltra and his Sheltra Motorsports believe they have a contending car for today’s Ansell Protective Gloves 150 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Yesterday, Sheltra, in his No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Toyota Camry maneuvered the sixth fastest time by posting a lap of 31.312 seconds or 172.458 miles per hour in the short one hour and twenty minute practice run. This morning under cooler track conditions, the 24-year old delivered his fastest lap with a time of 30.745 seconds at 175.638 miles per hour, a half-second improvement for the Mooresville North Carolina’s based team fastest lap yesterday.

“We never could get the clean air that we wanted to,” said Sheltra. “Our Sheltra Motorsports Toyota Camry was pretty good but there was a lot of traffic our there during our two mock qualifying runs. It is what it is though. I was overall pleased with the way the car felt this morning though. I’ll debrief with the team and we’ll be ready for qualifying and the race later today.” [more]

ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards championship contender Patrick Sheltra mounted the sixth fastest time in practice Thursday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway in preparation for tomorrow’s Ansell Protective Gloves 150, site of round number 15 on the 2010 calendar.

After piloting a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and a Dodge Charger respectively in the last two ARCA Racing Series contests, Sheltra climbed back behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry for Thursday’s short practice run.

During the quick one hour and twenty minute session, Sheltra steered his Jon Wolfe led Toyota Camry to as high as second on the speed charts before eventually sliding down to sixth. Turning 36 laps overall around the 1.5-mile speed plant, the Indiantown, Florida native maneuvered a fast time of 31.312 seconds or 172.458 miles per hour. [more]

Patrick Sheltra, No. 60 Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Toyota Camry,
Ansell Protective Gloves 150 Fast Facts
ARCA Racing Series Race No. 15, Ansell Protective Gloves 150,
Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois

Race Information: Event: Ansell Protective Gloves 150, Friday, August 27 at 6:00 p.m. Local Time Track: Chicagoland Speedway Qualifying: Friday, August 28 at 11:30 a.m. Local Time; Track Length: 1.5-mile paved tri-oval.

Last Time Out; Illinois State Fairgrounds: Patrick Sheltra returned to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois looking for a win in the Allen Crowe 100. After finishing third in two of his prior starts at the one-mile clay oval, Sheltra was hoping for a better result. After practicing in the top-three, Sheltra qualified his Dodge Charger fifth and kept his No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Dodge in the top-five until a hiccup by the driver saw the all-camouflage machine backed into the outside wall in turn three. After damage control, Sheltra would be wiped into another incident which at the time put his chances of winning the race grim. Though on a late race restart, Sheltra in his typical Mr. Showtime fashion stormed to an unprotected outside line on lap 91 to pass eight cars and shove his mangled machine into the lead. Not even a green-white-checkered finish could keep Sheltra from earning his second career victory as Sheltra stunning restart rewarded the Sheltra Motorsports team with their first win of the 2010 season.

Welcome Back To The Windy City: Patrick Sheltra returns to the Windy City looking to make his fifth career start at the Chicagoland Speedway. Sheltra returns to the aggressive cookie-cutter track looking for his second straight top-10 finish. Chicagoland Speedway holds the spot of Sheltra’s inaugural ARCA Racing Series debut in 2005 driving a second entry for Clements Racing. After qualifying an impressive 21st, clutch problems sidelined Sheltra. His best finish in four previous starts at Chicagoland Speedway was ninth last August. [more]

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.” [more]

Where did he come from? That was the most asked question in the ARCA Racing Series (ARS) presented by RE/MAX and Menards garage following the running of Sunday afternoon's Allen Crowe 100 after "Mr. Showtime" a.k.a. Patrick Sheltra blasted past the front-runners on a late race restart to lead the final 15 laps of the 14th ARCA event of the season and claim his second career victory.

Sheltra arrived at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in a great mood knowing he was returning to his original racing roots of dirt - not to mention having a pretty healthy overall record at the one-mile clay oval. After finishing third on two of his three previous Springfield occasions, the 24-year old was determined to put his Sheltra Motorsports team in victory circle.

The Indiantown, Florida native was the first to tackle the track on Sunday morning and quickly mounted his No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Dodge Charger to the top of the speed charts before eventually landing in the third position overall in the short one hour practice session. Sheltra complained of a loose condition on his Chrysler nameplate with crew chief Jon Wolfe quickly going to work and adjusting the team's machine in order to prepare for Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying which began an hour after practice had concluded. [more]