Patrick Sheltra

While Sheltra, the Indiantown, Florida native is gunning towards his first ARCA win of the season and his ninth consecutive top-10 finish in nine races this season, Sheltra will continue to honor Matt Hawkins, a former racing colleague and Iowa Speedway ARCA winner.

Hawkins, who won at Iowa Speedway in his lone ARCA Racing Series start at the .875-mile paved facility in 2008, lost his life in February 2009 in an accidental gun-discharge incident. Sheltra remembered his friend and close racing colleague in last year’s Prairie Meadows 200 by carrying a decal on the b-post of his No. 60 Dodge Charger.

As the series returns to Iowa for their annual summer tradition, Sheltra is vowing to keep Hawkins’s spirit alive in the ARCA garage and at Iowa Speedway.

“When the ARCA Racing Series comes to Iowa, it’s hard not to think about Matt,” said the 24-year old Sheltra. “Matt was a friend to us all. He raced you clean and hard but also gave you respect on and off the racetrack. He came to Iowa and won in his first ARCA start that says a lot about his devotion he had to racing. He was a good person and I know he’ll be with us in spirit on Saturday night.”

Thanks to long-time decal supplier, DMC Graphics of Philpot, Kentucky, the Sheltra Motorsports brigade has over 50 “In Memory of Matt Hawkins” decals for this weekend’s competitors, ARCA officials and track personnel. The team will once again plaster the decal on the driver side b-post area.

Sheltra now sporting the role as both driver and owner will make his fourth start at the Rusty Wallace-designed speed plant Saturday night behind the wheel of the No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Toyota Camry led by crew chief Jon Wolfe. Sheltra continues to lead the championship standings after eight races, 35 markers ahead of second-place contender Justin Marks.

Cost-effective marketing partnerships are still available for this weekend at Iowa Speedway and for the remainder of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season. For additional information, please contact brandon@patricksheltra.com or marketing@patricksheltra.com.

Entering Iowa, Sheltra has 75 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem (Ind.) Speedway (April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated 15 top-fives and posted 30 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 six times for 148 laps.

The Prairie Meadows 200 (200 laps / 175 miles) is the ninth of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The fifth ever ARCA race at Iowa Speedway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, July 10 with an hour and thirty five minute practice session planned from 10:00 a.m. – 11:35 a.m. A final fifty minute session has been etched in from 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 5:15 p.m. The event will take the green flag shortly after 8:00 p.m. The event will air live on SPEED. Additional race coverage including live timing and scoring and audio broadcasting throughout the day will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) presented by ARCA Nation online at arcaracing.com. All times are local (Central).

For the latest on Patrick Sheltra, Sheltra Motorsports and marketing partnership opportunities please visit 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 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards (No. 60) and a limited schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Indiantown, Florida with additional operations in Richmond, Indiana and Mooresville, North Carolina.

- Sheltra Motorsports Press Release

Sheltra Motorsports Logo

Race Information: Event: Prairie Meadows 200, Saturday, July 11 at 8:00 p.m. Local Time Track: Iowa Speedway Qualifying: Saturday, July 11 at 4:00 p.m. Local Time; Track Length: .875-mile paved-oval.

Mansfield Motorsports Recap: Veteran ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Patrick Sheltra suffered misfortune for the second consecutive ARCA RE/MAX Series at Mansfield Motorsports Park after being entangled in another competitor’s incident on lap one. The team was able to rebound and race competitively in the top-15 only to succumb to suspension failure 28 laps from the finish. The team finished 21st.

NASCAR Split: Between the most recent ARCA RE/MAX Series event at Mansfield Motorsports Park and the upcoming event at Iowa Speedway, Sheltra made his third career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) start at Daytona International Speedway last Friday night. After qualifying 27th, Sheltra drafted his No. 81 D.H. Griffin Companies-Quality Turf-Buffalo Wings & Rings-Indiantown Marina Dodge Charger to the top-15 with the leaders insight when contact from the No. 07 of Chase Austin sent Sheltra hard into the backstretch wall. The incident also collected Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Steven Wallace. He finished 41st.

Returning To The Hawkeye State: Indiantown, Florida native Patrick Sheltra will make his third start at the relatively new Iowa Speedway Saturday night. Sheltra made his inaugural debut at the .875-mile short track in 2007 where he qualified 15th and finished 20th. Last year, Sheltra started eighth and captured his first top-10 finish of the 2008 season by crossing the line ninth. Sheltra has been running at the finish of both events.

Happy Birthday Mama Grace: Car Owner and Patrick Sheltra’s mother Grace Sheltra celebrated her 53rd birthday on Wednesday. Grace Sheltra is one of several female owners in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and was the highest finishing female car owner in 2008. As one of the top-female car owners in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, she has one win, nine top-fives and 18 top-10 finishes to her credit.

In Memory of Matt Hawkins

On Top Of His Game: To better prepare himself and his team for Saturday night’s Prairie Meadows 200, Patrick Sheltra and his Sheltra Motorsports team participated in an open test at Iowa Speedway last Tuesday. Sheltra and his posse spent seven hours familiarizing working on the handling of the No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger hoping to find the upper-hand that will better them for the 10th installment on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule.

Watcha Haulin?: Crew Chief John Hayden has elected to bring Sheltra chassis number 11 to Iowa Speedway this weekend. The primary machine will be the same Dodge that Sheltra wheeled to a podium finish of third at Pocono Raceway last month. The former Penske Racing automobile will be run for just the fourth time in Sheltra’s ARCA 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.

Points Check: After round nine on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, Patrick Sheltra sits eighth in the championship standings accumulating 1625 points. Just 130 points keeps Sheltra from the fifth position. Sheltra is 490 markers from the top-spot. Car owner Grace Sheltra sits 10th in the car owner standings.

No. 60 Buffalo Wings & Rings Dodge Charger

Autographs Anyone?: After his duties at the track on Friday afternoon, Sheltra is TENATIVELY scheduled to spend his evening at the Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino (Altoona, Iowa) participating in an autograph session from 7:00pm to 8:00pm local time.

You Can Be Apart Of The Ultimate Hunting Experience: Sheltra Motorsports wants to give a race fan an ultimate opportunity to join Patrick Sheltra or Sheltra Motorsports dirt driver Shannon Babb a chance at a paramount moment to hunt with either driver at Patrick Sheltra’s hunting ranch in Dryden, Texas. The best part, all expenses paid! Race fans will have the entire ARCA season to enter the contest with the winner being announced in the ARCA RE/MAX Series finale at Rockingham Speedway in October. Visit HuntingExtravangza.com for more details.

This Is The People’s Car: In an effort to bring race fans closer to the Sheltra Motorsports team, the team is full throttle with their Peoples Car promotion. Race fans will have the opportunity to have their name plastered on the No. 60 for the rest of the ARCA RE/MAX Series season. In addition, each time a fan joins the People’s Car their name will be tossed into a drawing for an-all expensed paid trip (minus lodging expenses) to the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series season finale at Rockingham Speedway. The lucky fan will be an honorary member of the Sheltra Motorsports team plus enjoy a few little surprises the team has spiced up for the lucky winner. Browse PatrickSheltra.com or ThePeoplesCars.com for all the details.

Vote Him Your Favorite Driver: Race fans can vote Patrick Sheltra as the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series most popular driver by visiting ARCANation.com. From now until the end of the season, race fans can click on to ARCA’s official fan-related web site and vote once a day for their favorite ARCA RE/MAX Series driver. The winner will be announced at the ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship Awards Banquet in Covington, Kentucky this December. If you’re an ARCA Nation member your vote counts twice per day for one driver. If you’re a non-ARCA Nation member, your vote counts only once. Sign up today at ARCANation.com and vote for Patrick Sheltra!

Patrick Sheltra

On Mansfield Motorsports Park: “We just can’t seem to catch a break. We were entangled in a wreck in the first corner of lap one and unfortunately that set our tone for the night. We were able to rebound from that and fight our way into the top-10 but then something on the suspension broke and put us out of the race.”

On NASCAR Nationwide Series Race At Daytona: “First, I have to thank MacDonald Motorsports, D.H. Griffin, Quality Turf, Buffalo Wings & Rings and Indiantown Marina for allowing us to race at Daytona last weekend. There was no doubt about it that we had a good car and opportunity to finish in the top-10 but an inpatient driver hit us from behind and ruined a bunch of guy’s night. I was glad to be back in the Nationwide garage and I’m hoping to do more races later this season.”

On Car Owner and Mother’s Grace Sheltra Birthday This Week: “This ARCA program wouldn’t be active if it wasn’t for my mom. The guys on the team love her and care for her like a mom, so it’s one big family. A win on Saturday night might just be the biggest present she could ever receive.”

On Iowa Speedway: “It really is a nice place. The track provides some great racing and I’m even happier about racing back under the lights there. It should be a good night of hard short track racing. We’re going for our second win of the season and I hope we’re able to pull it off.”

On Matt Hawkins: “Matt Hawkins was a great racecar driver. We raced several times together last year and while we raced each other extremely hard, we never touched. He was a great competitor for the ARCA RE/MAX Series and we miss seeing his face at the track. We’re going to try and win the race this weekend for our marketing partners but also in honor of Matt as well.”

On The Point Standings: “We took a hit again but we are not sunk. Justin Allgaier came back last year from a huge defect; almost were we’re sitting and won the championship. It could happen for a second straight year. It’s not going to be easy and it will take a lot of hard work but with the devotion of this race team we’ve made the impossible happen.”

Sheltra Motorsports, Iowa Speedway: Grace Sheltra, owner of the

On Mansfield: “It was a tough race. We’ve been fast all year but we always seem to face different obstacles during the race. If we don’t we’re finishing in the top-five and winning. We think Mansfield was the last race with the hump on our back.”

On Iowa: “It’s a great place for a racetrack. It’s practically in the middle of nowhere but fans arrive at that place in droves. The track reminds me a lot of Richmond International Raceway. Patrick and the team had a good test there last week, so hopefully we can keep going in the right direction and get that second win on Saturday night.”

On NASCAR Nationwide Series Race At Daytona: “No mistaking it, people knew that Patrick Sheltra was there. Not only because he was returning to the track for the first time since the accident in February but because he was driving a very clean and smart race. That was earning him the respect of guys like Carl Edwards, David Gilliland, Kevin Harvick, David Ragan, Kenny Wallace and so on. You can’t control an unjustified call from another driver but the bright picture is Patrick wasn’t hurt and we were running near the front when it happens. We’ll be back to race in the Nationwide Series again this year and we’ll make up for the Daytona finish for sure.”

PRIOR RESULTS:

Date Event Start Finish Laps Status

06/07 Prairie Meadows 250 15 20 241/250 Running

04/08 Prairie Meadows 250 8 9 250/250 Running

The Prairie Meadows 200 (200 laps / 175 miles) is the 10th of 21 events on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The fourth ever ARCA race at Iowa Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday July 10 with an hour and half practice session planned from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is set for Saturday, July 11 slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag shortly after 8:00 p.m. The event will not be televised however flag-to-flag coverage will be broadcasted live through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

Fast Links:

Driver / Team: Patrick Sheltra on the web: PatrickSheltra.com

Marketing Partner: Buffalo Wings & Rings on the web: BuffaloWingsandRings.com

Sanction: ARCA RE/MAX Series: ARCARacing.com

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.

- Sheltra Motorsports Press Release