Milka Duno Ready for Twists and Turns at New Jersey Motorsports Park
Duno set to make ARCA road course debut

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 21, 2011) - After tackling two Superspeedways and two short tracks thus far in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season, Milka Duno is ready for something a little more familiar - road course racing. While she is an ARCA Racing Series Rookie, Duno is certainly no stranger to the twists and turns of road course racing and couldn't be more ready to tackle New Jersey Motorsports Park's (NJMP) 2.25-mile track when the ARCA Racing Series starts their engines for the ModSpace 150 on Sunday, May 22.

While Duno will be making her first start at NJMP and has never made a stock car start on a road course, her road racing pedigree speaks for itself. Duno earned the highest finish ever by a female driver when she finished second in the 2007 edition of the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona. She also made history as the first woman to win a major international sportscar race when she drove to victory lane in the Rolex Sports Car Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. She has a total of three overall wins in the Rolex Series and five wins in the American Le Mans Series - including two class wins in the famous Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta - the first woman in history to achieve this feat.

"I'm excited about my first race on a road course in a stock car - but I also have enough experience to know that racing on road courses in different types of race cars does not always translate 100%, especially when tackling a road course in a new type of race car for the first time," said Duno. "Stock cars are completely different than IndyCars, Daytona Prototypes or American Le Mans Series Prototypes, and each type of car performs and handles very differently. It will be a new challenge for me on this track in a stock car - but I look forward to it and will be doing my best to deliver a good result."

While Duno is unfamiliar with New Jersey Motorsports Park's twists and turns her Sheltra Motorsports team has been to the 2.25-mile track three times and are ready to carry the momentum from their season-best finish last weekend at Toledo Speedway to New Jersey.

"When we sat down at the start of the year and looked at the calendar this is one of the races that we marked where we really felt like Milka could shine because of all her road course experience," said Crew Chief Jon Wolfe. "The Sheltra Motorsports team has been working really hard in the shop and we look forward to another strong result this weekend."

Racing begins for the ARCA Racing Series at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday, May 21 with two afternoon practice sessions Menards Pole qualifying presented by Ansell at 4:30 p.m. EST. The green flag will drop for 67 laps of road course action at 1:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, May 22.

Milka Duno and the No. 63 CITGO SUPERGARD Toyota Fast Facts:

Duno at NJMP: Milka Duno will be making her first-career start at New JerseyMotorsportsPark.

Sheltra Motorsports at NJMP: Sheltra Motorsports has three previous starts at NJMP. 2010 Champion Patrick Sheltra gave the team their best finish in 2009 when he started eighth and finished seventh.

Autographs: Fans will have the chance to meet Milka Duno and all of their favorite ARCA Racing Series drivers on Sunday, May 22 during an on-track autograph session from 11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. EST.

Follow Sheltra Motorsports: Want to know what is going on at the Sheltra Motorsports shop or what 2010 Champion Patrick Sheltra is up to? Be sure to follow Sheltra Motorsports on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SheltraMotorsports

Keep Up With Milka: Want to learn more about Milka Duno? Log on to her official website at www.milkaduno.com. Fans cans also log on to her official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheOfficialMilkaDunoFanPage.

About Milka Duno:
Duno has eight major race wins in the highest classes (Prototype) in the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Series and the highest finish ever by a female driver (2nd Place) in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the 48-year history of the race. Go, Milka, Go! - A book about her life and racing career was awarded the Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book of 2009 at the 11th Annual International Latino Book Awards. In 2010, Duno became the first Venezuelan athlete inducted into the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame.

Sheltra Motorsports:
Sheltra Motorsports, established in 2007, is in the midst of its fifth season of ARCA Racing Series competition. Owned by Florida-native, Patrick Sheltra, the owner-driver team captured the 2010 ARCA Racing Series driver and owner's championship titles on the strength of two wins, 12 top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes in 20 events. Sheltra Motorsports is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., with additional operations in Indiana and Florida. For more information, visit www.sheltramotorsports.com.

 

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