From the Kansas Lottery 150 it will be onto the task of making his fourth career NASCAR Nationwide Series start a successful one for MacDonald Motorsports in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300.
But before the Indiantown, Florida native can draw all of his attention towards the second-tier NASCAR series; he is focused on his primary job behind the wheel of the No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings-MC2 Energy Drink Dodge Charger.
The final mile-and-a-half track of the season was particularly kind to the 23-year old phenom in 2008 and he’s hoping for a similar performance on Thursday afternoon. Last April, Sheltra Motorsports debuted their Dodge Charger program by qualifying a speedway best of eighth before thrusting their Grace Sheltra owned machine into the lead before settling for eighth. This year with success on the cookie-cutter type track, Sheltra is aiming high and gunning for his fifth top-five run of the year.
“I’m a fan of the mile-and-a-half tracks,” Sheltra said. “We’ve run okay on them this year but we’re plenty capable of finishing inside the top-five. We’re bringing the same car we finished ninth with at Chicagoland and we’ve even made some more changes to the body to make it even better, so I’m ready for a good race.”
The team elected not to participate in the open-test at the 1.5-mile speed plant but Sheltra isn’t concerned about that fact. Instead, he’s driven on notching his ninth top-10 run of the year in his third Kansas ARCA start.
“I feel like we’ve improved a little on our intermediate program from 2008,” continued Sheltra. “This year, we’ve finished in the top-10 in all three mile-and-a-half tracks so we’re aiming towards our fourth straight top-10. I feel like if we can keep our car in clean air and adjust on it during the race; we’ll be in good shape.”
MC2 Energy Drink, who’s enjoyed a wealth of success with their products has leaped aboard the Sheltra Motorsports train for this weekend’s activities with Sheltra ready to deliver.
Sitting 105 markers out of the fifth position in the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship chase, Sheltra is determined to propel his third year team into the top-five when the checkered flag waives at Rockingham Speedway next weekend.
“While our goal all year was to be in the hunt for the championship, I would be happy with finishing in the top-five. My guys have worked hard despite some bad luck but we’re ready to the end the year on a high note with two good runs and a fifth place finish in the championship race,” Sheltra concluded.
Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to use Sheltra Motorsports Chassis No. 13 this weekend at Kansas Speedway. This is the same piece the team raced to a sixth and ninth place finish at Kentucky Speedway and a ninth place at Chicagoland Speedway this year. This car has also had track time at Michigan International Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway and Chicagoland Speedway last season. The former Penske Racing ride has five top-10 finishes including a best of sixth at Michigan (2008) and Kentucky (2009) in six starts. It will be run for just the seventh time in Sheltra’s career. Chassis number 16 will serve as the team’s back-up automobile. That former Richard Childress Racing entry is a new addition to the team’s fleet. The Whitesville, Kentucky based team tested this Dodge Charger at Michigan International Speedway in May. It has yet to see any ARCA race competition.
Entering Kansas, Sheltra has 65 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway (April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated 10 top-fives and posted 22 top-10 finishes. A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham Speedway (April 2009) is Sheltra’s best time trials efforts to date. He has controlled the ARCA field five times for 109 laps.
The Kansas Lottery 150 (100 laps/150 miles) is the 20th of 21 events on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The ninth ARCA race held at Kansas is a one-day show. Practice begins Thursday, October 1 with a two hour practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag shortly after 4:00 p.m. The race will be broadcasted live on SPEED and through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.
For more on Patrick Sheltra, the Sheltra Motorsports team and marketing partnership opportunities please visit PatrickSheltra.com.
For additional input on Buffalo Wings & Rings, please connect to Buffalowingsandrings.com or call 513.831.WING.
About Sheltra Motorsports:
Sheltra Motorsports (sheltramotorsports.com) is a three-tier Motorsports operation consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 23-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 the NASCAR Nationwide Series. 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.
About Buffalo Wings & Rings:
Buffalo Wings & Rings is the fastest-growing privately owned franchised chain of restaurants in the nation serving Buffalo-style chicken wings, onion rings, burgers, chicken and salads. Founded in 1988 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Buffalo Wings & Rings operates franchised restaurants throughout the United States. Buffalo Wings & Rings was ranked the No. 1 fastest growing restaurant chain nationwide in the July 2008 issue of Restaurant Business, and ranked in the top 500 franchises in the January 2009 issue of Entrepreneur. For more information, visit buffalowingsandrings.com or call 513-831-WING.
- Sheltra Motorsports Press Release