After a solid top-15 finish in last Friday’s ARCA 200 from Michigan International Speedway, Patrick Sheltra is feeling some relief and feels that his rookie season is back on track and heading in the right direction.
In the first practice session of the day, Sheltra controlled the 24th quickest lap with a time of 40.731 seconds at 176.770 MPH. Not an impressive speed, but Sheltra and the whole Premier Motorsports didn’t break a sweat as the team knew they had a car capable of running strong.
“We played around with the setup during practice, ” Sheltra said. “I think we have an ideal setup for qualifying and the race and that’s our primary focus. We know this is one of the toughest races of the year, we just look to do our best. ”
In ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying, Sheltra maneuvered a lap of 40.520 seconds at 177.690 MPH, picking up nearly two-tenths of a second from his earlier practice run. His time trials efforts earned him the 24th position on the starting grid.
“Our car is primarily set for the race, ” Sheltra offered. “We knew we would have a decent qualifying run. I’m running better than I ran here last year and that’s good news for me. I want to thank all my guys for all their support. I think we’ll have a good race. ”
Indeed, Sheltra did have a good race. In fact, he started in the mid-20s and never looked back.
With guidance from spotter and car owner Dan Kinney above, the duo patiently worked themselves through the competitive field avoiding the early race attrition.
Sheltra hovered inside the top-20 for much of the 100 lap/200 mile event. Good pit stops from his Premier Motorsports team kept the No. 60 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the spotlight.
Sheltra learned a lot in the only race in the Irish Hills this season. Despite several laps of three and four wide racing, Sheltra emerged untouched and crossed the line 14th, bouncing back from the team’s disappointing run at Pocono a week prior.
“We had a good day, ” said Sheltra, a native of Florida. “We positioned ourselves to finish in the top-15 and we did that. I really would have liked to finish in the top-10, but we just didn’t quite have enough. The car was really good. We were able to move ourselves through the field and race hard. That’s the biggest thing you have to be able to do at MIS. I had a lot of fun our there and it wasn’t a bad points day either. ”
Sheltra was right. After entering the 11th race of the season tied for 10th, Sheltra bumped himself up one spot to regain the ninth position unlatching himself from Jason Hedlesky. He now sits 20 markers ahead of Hedlesky and 50 points behind eighth place runner Justin Marks.
The ARCA RE/MAX Series will enjoy a two-week break from competition before returning to Michigan for a battle at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan just outside of Grand Rapids on July 7.
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