All Aboard for Jeremy Clements’ Pavement Return

By Michelle Petroff, Team Press Release, September 7, 2005

SPARTANBURG, SC (September 7, 2005) – Jeremy Clements, the talented young 20-year-old with steely determination, a lead foot and cool demeanor, will mark his return to pavement racing this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway’s ARCA RE/MAX “SK Hand Tool 200”.

Clements was on the fast track to the upper echelons of racing and already notched several top-5 and top-10 finishes on racing’s super speedways with the ARCA RE/MAX Series and even managed a NASCAR Busch Series start before his 20th birthday. A freak racing incident seriously injured the Spartanburg, SC, native last July when the driveshaft pierced through the cockpit of Clements’ dirt late model and struck him in the hand and abdomen. Now, after eight-plus painful reconstructive operations and hundreds of hours of intensive physical therapy, Jeremy Clements will once again buckle up to compete in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

The Clements team has never competed at Chicagoland but did participate in an open test last month so Jeremy could regain the feel for the pavement and the ARCA car while also turning laps around the 1.5-mile paved oval.

“It has been an adjustment getting back in to the ARCA car but there was never a doubt in my mind that I would,” stated Clements as his team prepared his #3 and teammate Patrick Sheltra’s #94 for the trip from South Carolina to Illinois. “It was great to test as Chicagoland but I’m ready to race this weekend’s SK Hand Tool 200. Endurance would be the only concern that some mention but so far so good. I will be so pumped up that they may have to force me off the track because I won’t want to stop at 134 laps. Racing is all I ever wanted to do and I am blessed to be able to return and have this opportunity. Thinking about racing and what is still ahead of me is what kept me motivated. I can’t thank my family, friends, crew, fans and the racing community enough for their support. I know things don’t happen over night and without hard work but my goal is not only to return, but be better than I ever was before, and I won’t feel complete until that happens.”

Clements will once again pilot his Grady Orthopedics/The Saxon Group/One Stop Convenience Stores #3 while fellow dirt racer and friend, 19-year-old Patrick Sheltra from Indiantown, FL, will wheel a second Clements Racing entry – the #94 and carry support from Sheltra & Sons Construction/Brady Ranch/Spartan Contractors. Additionally, another fellow dirt and ARCA RE/MAX Series hot shoe and teen sensation, Justin Allgaier, will not only lend his ARCA crew (which netted two top-5 ARCA finished last weekend) to Sheltra but also serve as his spotter.

“We are all competitors and race against one another with the goal of winning but they are also my teammates,” said Allgaier. “Michelle Petroff works with all three of us and she has always treated things as an extended family so the communication has been open. I know we all want the best for one another – really, they are like family – it’s a neat dynamic. Both the Clements and Sheltra teams have always welcomed me and been very supportive so it’s great to return the favor. My team and I are happy to be part of theirs this weekend. I wish I had the resources to be out there racing with them but I’m looking forward to the new experience and can hopefully be an asset to the team.”

Jeremy’s website – http://www.jeremyclementsracing.com – has been reignited with the latest news and information on the team. More information on Patrick Sheltra and Justin Allgaier can be found respectively at http://www.patricksheltra.com and http://www.allgaiermotorsports.com. Full event information can be found online at http://www.arcaracing.com and the “SK Hand Tool 200” will air live on SPEED this Saturday, September 10th, at 2 p.m. EDT.

Jeremy Clements’ #3 will carry support from Grady Orthopedics, The Saxon Group, One Stop Convenience Stores, SEC, Cherokee Landscaping, Clements Racing Engines and Big As Graphics while Sheltra’s #94 is backed by Sheltra & Sons Construction, The Brady Ranch, Trophy Hunters Paradise, Spartan Contractors, The Saxon Group and Clements Racing Engines.