Q: What you think about Talladega Superspeedway?
Patrick Sheltra: “I’m glad to be back at Talladega. This is such an awesome place. Talladega is the site of my very first restrictor plate track and I’ll never forget that. Being back here brings back a lot of memories of last October. I hope we can better those memories with a win in a couple weeks.”
Q: About returning to Restrictor Plate Racing?
Patrick Sheltra: “I’m better at it then I was last October, that’s for sure. We had a really good competitive car at Daytona and that helped me get in a good rhythm. It’s still nerve-racking as a driver, but it’s an awful lot of fun too.”
Q: About Wednesday’s test session ?
Patrick Sheltra: “We’re pretty decent. I’m pretty happy with the way the test has gone. We’re not exactly at the top of the charts, but the car is real smooth and very neutral. We’re not showing all of our horsepower here either, so that the extra horses could be that extra boost to put us near the top in two weeks.”
Q: Do you approach Talladega a little different, than you would any other ARCA race?
Patrick Sheltra: “I would like to say no, but I have to say absolutely. Restrictor plate racing is crazy. It’s exciting for the fans but it’s a race that can literally make or break you. We were luck enough in both restrictor plate races that I’ve been able to miss the “big one. “But you can never tell when and if it will happen. You have to be conservative here, but you also have to be aggressive. You cannot afford to get run-over, but you can’t loose the draft either. This is a place that has a lot of dos and don’ts, so your approach here may be a little different than a place like Kentucky Speedway or Toledo Speedway. I think that’s why everyone loves Talladega the way they do.”
Q: Do you prefer Talladega Superspeedway or Daytona International Speedway?
Patrick Sheltra: “Both tracks are great, but Talladega is so smooth that it makes it my favorite restrictor plate track. The characteristics of Talladega provide some great racing for the fans and even the teams. I love having the start-finish line farther than any other track we go to and with the track as smooth as it is, you can adjust your car a lot better than a place like Daytona. Hands down, Talladega is my favorite superspeedway.”
Q: About former Richard Childress Racing (RCR) piece ?
Patrick Sheltra: “We’re bringing a good piece. We only brought one car to the test simply because we wanted to make sure that this car would be something we could contend with. We struggled to get the car to draft a little better, but I think we’ve been able to correct that issue, so I know we have something stout. RCR has always been notorious for building great restrictor plate cars and that fact stands true here at Sheltra Motorsports.”
Q: How important is it for ARCA to come back to Talladega Superspeedway year after year?
Patrick Sheltra: “It’s really huge. I mean Talladega Superspeedway has so much rich history, I don’t think the ARCA RE/MAX Series would be the same if Talladega was missing from the schedule lineup. I know the teams really do enjoy coming here every year. Yeah, there’s a lot of pressure to come and run a race like this, but when you take that green flag, all of that goes out the window and you’re just glad to competing at a track that some people will never be able to experience first hand.”
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