Patrick Sheltra is itching for a good run in Friday’s ARCA 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Last weekend, Sheltra aboard Dan Kinney’s No. 60 Chevrolet Monte Carlo saw a clean top-10 finish escape when multiple tire issues take the team from the hunt.
Heading into the Motor City, Sheltra hopes to motor his Brady Ranch-FloraGanics Chevrolet Monte Carlo to his second top-10 finish of the 2007 season.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Michigan, ” said Sheltra who sits 10th in ARCA RE/MAX Series points heading into the 11th race of the season. “I made my Michigan debut last June and we were running pretty well before we had engine failure. Hopefully I can capitalize and turn things around on Friday. ”
Sheltra has run well this season despite some tough results. He hopes to turn the wick up this week and send his Premier Motorsports to the front in a race that is expected to be dominated by the ARCAwackers.
“The race this week will probably be one of the most competitive of the season, ” Sheltra offered. “You have some great NASCAR teams coming in and trying to take the limelight. We’ve worked hard on our Speedway program the last couple of weeks hoping to off-set their expected dominance. Our equipment has been good this year and I think this will be a race where we could shine. ”
Closing in on the half-way mark of the 2007 ARS season, Sheltra seems satisfied with the team’s progress so far.
“We’ve really had a good year. We’ve had some good finishes stripped because of bad luck, but that’s part of racing. I think the second half of the season will be a lot stronger for us than many people think. We’re putting a lot of focus into the triple-crown races and Talladega Superspeedway. Those events are where we feel we can win. Of course we head into every event with the mentality that we can walk away with a victory, but those are some of the races that really stand out. ”
After losing a spot to fellow Floridian Bryan Silas last weekend at Pocono Raceway, Sheltra knows that a good finish this weekend is crucial as far as the point standings are concerned.
“Bryan led some laps at Pocono which dropped us to 10th. We’re also tied with Jason Hedlesky. We’re going to Michigan to gain on the points we lost from Brian and try to separate ourselves from Jason. I think we have a pretty good setup for the race this weekend, we just need to keep to our game and grab the best finish we can. ”
Continuing their sponsorship of Sheltra’s entry this weekend is CP Concrete Products, US Construction, Brady Ranch and FloraGanics.
The ARCA 200 (100 laps/200 miles) is the 11th of 23 events on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. Practice begins Thursday, June 14th with a two hour practice (10:00am-12:00pm) session planned. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 3:00pm Local Time.
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