JUSTIN TX (3-6-10) - On the heels of two consecutive top-10 finishes in his home state, Indiantown, Florida's Patrick Sheltra is ready to head west for Texas, the next stop on the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards tour. It starts with the ARCA open test at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) on Tuesday, March 9.

The ARCA Racing Series is returning to the ultra-fast 1.5-mile speedway for the first time in 12 years; but the 23-year-old Sheltra will embrace the track in the Lone Star State for the first time in his racing career.

Sheltra, in his fourth season of ARCA competition, has competed at similar intermediate tracks like Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Kentucky Speedway but not yet at Texas.  

"Without a doubt, Texas might just be the fastest track that ARCA competes on," said Sheltra, who sits fourth in championship standings after two races.

"Sure, we top 200 miles per hour at Daytona and Talladega, but those are a very different scenario than what we're anticipating on Tuesday. I'm expecting the track to be very fast which should lead to some impressive lap times which could set the tone for what we can expect when we return in April."

Sheltra also knows that with the speed will come some fierce racing, which he is gladly hoping for when the Rattlesnake 150 takes the green flag on April 16 live on SPEED.

"No one wants to see a dull race - and we know last year, some of the best racing was on tracks similar to Texas. The competition will be intense because everyone wants to say that they won in ARCA's return to Texas. I want to win at Texas though because I want one of those cowboy hats!"

And should "Mr. Showtime" master the field and pull into victory lane for his first career speedway victory, he knows exactly where's going to put the legendary victory lane treasure. "If we win, that hat is not leaving the state - we'll put it down in our ranch in Dryden."

Sheltra is planning to make the hike to the isolated city of Dryden following Tuesday's test session. "I guess you can call me a part-time Texan," Sheltra laughed. "You might as well. Our family spends a lot of time out there, which is about eight hours from the track. Texas is just a cool state, so to have the honor to be able to now race in the same state doesn't hurt my feelings one bit."

For the first time this season, Jon Wolfe, crew chief for Sheltra Motorsports, will unload a Toyota Camry as the team's primary manufacturer of choice for the test on Tuesday. The team is expected to use the Japanese nameplate for the fourth race of the season next month.

The No. 60 Toyota Camry is a new addition to the Sheltra Motorsports fleet after being acquired from Eddie Sharp Racing, the 2009 ARCA Racing Series championship team.

"We're excited about this new hot rod," Sheltra added. "Jon (Wolfe) and the guys have worked around the clock to get our new baby up and running. I'm anxious to see how she will roll on Tuesday."

Sheltra has 69 ARCA Racing Series starts to his credit with one career victory at Salem Speedway (April 2009). During his ARCA tenure, Sheltra has earned 11 top-fives and 24 top-10 finishes. A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham Speedway (April 2009) is Sheltra's best qualifying run to date.

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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 Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards (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 Mooresville, North Carolina.

TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports 

PHONE: 239.834.9797 or 239.214.1083