Patrick Sheltra; Sheltra Motorsports Gunning For Illinois Sweep

ā€œSheltra Motorsports Eyeing Complete Sweep Of Illinois ARCA Racesā€???
DU QUOIN, Illinois (September 2, 2010) - - 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
Mondayā€™s Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care.
And if thereā€™s a track that perfectly fits Sheltraā€™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
yearā€™s Labor Day tradition but engine failure just 30 laps into the
100-lap feature leaves the Floridian with unfinished business.
ā€œI want Du Quoin and I want it bad,ā€??? said Sheltra, who sits third in the
ARCA Racing Series point standings entering Mondayā€™s festivities, just 10
markers behind leader Craig Goess. ā€œThere was no doubt we had this race won;
we were coming and the motor seized. I donā€™t think I ever left a track so
mad. This year though, itā€™s the opposite story. We have some great momentum
and a great team behind me and I promise you weā€™re going to give it our
all to complete the Illinois sweep.ā€???
For the second time this year, the Sheltra Motorsports team will revert to
a blast from the past when the team led by veteran crew chief Jon Wolfe
will unload the No. 60 Dodge Charger tricked out in an all camouflage paint
scheme accented by streaks of neon orange. The paint scheme was a normal
fixture for the Sheltra Motorsports team in 2008 before scaling back and
running the popular wrap only on the dirt races last year. Sheltraā€™s automobile
will be the same piece he notched a thrilling win in the Allen Crowe 100
two weeks ago.
After snookering the field on a late race restart and rising from eighth
to first at Springfield, Sheltra held off a charging field behind him in his
badly mangled No. 60 Chrysler nameplate to score his second career win and
first of the 2010 season. Before powering his way to victory lane, Sheltra
was involved in two separate incidents. Thanks to quick work by
Performance Vehicle Works (PVW) and Timmy McKichan, the awarding winning piece will
be back in contention on Monday gunning for a second straight win.
ā€œI canā€™t thank Performance Vehicle Works and Timmy (McKichan) enough for
helping us get the car repaired so quickly,ā€??? remarked Sheltra. They did a
fantastic job and the car looks brand new! I also have to thank my guys at
Sheltra Motorsports. They busted their tails this week to get this car back
in tip-top shape for the final dirt race of the season. Everyone knows what
a disaster she (the car) was after Springfield. Now, she has a brand new
smooth wrap, so the field better be ready because we think we can leave them
in the dust again!ā€???
Aiming for his 13th top-10 finish of the 2010 season on Monday at the ā€œ
Magic Mileā€???, Sheltra is quick to point out the different characteristics
between the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. ā€œEven
though they are the same track sizes, they are completely night and day.
The way they are setup, the track characteristics and even tire wear are
completely different at Du Quoin. Some say Springfield is more difficult than
Du Quoin; some say Du Quoin is more challenging than Springfield. Both
tracks have their pros and cons but I can promise you this; you cannot race the
same way at Du Quoin that you do at Springfield, so I hope the fans are
excited; because itā€™s going to be a heck of a show,ā€??? Sheltra explained.
Stalking the ARCA Racing Series championship pointā€™s leader by just 10
markers with five races remaining, Sheltra is well aware that he needs to keep
his momentum train on track which includes staying focused on and off the
track. ā€œWeā€™re going for it,ā€??? sounded Sheltra, referring to the
championship. ā€œThe last five tracks of the season; our team has had success at. I know
we can do this. Weā€™re going to triple check everything and do a lot of
praying. If we keep doing what weā€™ve been doing the last couple of weeks,
everyone should be chasing us come Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway in October.ā€???
Eddie Sharp Racingā€™s Craig Goess leads nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel by
five markers with Sheltra, just 10 points in the arrears.
Before turning his attention to the 1,309 race held for the 57-year tour,
Sheltra will visit the American Legion Post 306 in Metropolis, Illinois on
Sunday, September 5 to start spreading awareness and gather interest for
this yearā€™s ā€œToys for Totsā€??? campaign.
The mission of the "Toys for Tots" program is to collect new, unwrapped
toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those
toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the
campaign is conducted. The primary goal of "Toys for Tots" is to deliver,
through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters
that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive and patriotic
citizens.
"It's a neat program and really hits your heart knowing that you are doing
some great for a child on Christmas day. Our goal on Sunday is to
encourage everyone to bring a new unwrapped / unopened toy that will give us a jump
start on this year's mission. I'm going to help launch the program by
bringing a handful of toys myself."
Sundayā€™s event officially kicks off at 1:00 p.m. with Sheltra scheduled to
sign autographs beginning at 2:00 p.m. The American Legion Post 306 is
located at 321 Market Street in Metropolis, Illinois 62960-1829, about an hour
and a half from the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. The American Legion will
also have food and snacks available for purchase with the proceeds going
towards the 2010 edition of ā€œToys for Tots.ā€??? Further information about the
event is available by calling 618.771.7316.
Multiple cost-effective marketing partnership packages are still available
for the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds and the remainder of 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_ (mailto:brandon@patricksheltra.com)
) or email _marketing@patricksheltra.com_
(mailto:marketing@patricksheltra.com) .
Entering Du Quoin, Sheltra has 82 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX
and Menards starts to his credit with three career victories at Salem (Ind.)
Speedway (April 2009), the Illinois State Fairgrounds (August 2010) and
Chicagoland Speedway (August 2010). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has
accumulated 18 top-fives and posted 34 top-10 finishes. A second place
qualifying effort at Chicagoland Speedway (August 2010) is Sheltraā€™s best time
trials effort to date. He has controlled the ARCA field nine times for 273 laps.
The Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care (100 miles / 100
laps) is the 16th of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by
RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The annual ARCA Labor Day event held at the
Du Quoin State Fairgrounds is a one-day show. Practice begins Monday,
September 6 with a one hour practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. The
field will take the green flag Monday afternoon shortly after 1:00 p.m. The
race will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and
scoring throughout the day will be available through the ARCA Racing Network
(ARN) online at _arcaracing.com_ (http://www.arcaracing.com/) presented by
_ARCANation.com. _ (http://www.arcanation.com/) All times are local.
For more input on the Toys for Tots program please click over to
_Toysfortots.org_ (http://www.toysfortots.org/) .
For the latest on Patrick Sheltra, Sheltra Motorsports and marketing
partnership opportunities please visit _PatrickSheltra.com_
(http://www.patricksheltra.com/) .
Join the official Patrick Sheltra fan page on Facebook (Official Patrick
Sheltra Fan Page) by clicking _here._
(http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-Patrick-Sheltra-Fan-Page/291819818750?ref=mf)
Tweet with Patrick Sheltra on Twitter (@patricksheltra) at
_twitter.com/patricksheltra.com_ (http://www.twitter.com/patricksheltra) .
About Sheltra Motorsports:
Sheltra Motorsports (_sheltramotorsports.com_
(http://www.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:
NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 239.214.1083
EMAIL: chris@patricksheltra.com