ARCA Nation

Bryan Silas Leaves Palm Beach Seventh In Points

JUPITER, Florida (March 1, 2010) - - Stuart, Florida native Bryan Silas made his Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway debut Saturday and while the 22 year old wasn’t able to notch a second consecutive top-10 finish this season, the ARCA Racing Series driver left the Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace seventh in the championship standings.

Working with new crew chief Dennis Conner, the duo set their sights on practice hoping to dial in their No. 11 Rockingham Speedway-Palm Beach Grading Ford Fusion. During the lengthy practice, the team was able to mount the 17th fastest lap.

With qualified assigned by groups in 10 minute increments, Silas was the 15th car to make a qualifying attempt around the PBIR race course. During his run, he muscled his Andy Hillenburg-owned machine around the track in 81.749 seconds at 89.087 miles per hour good enough to line up 16th. “We’re heading in the right direction and the car is real stable,” offered Silas.

When the green flag dropped Saturday afternoon, Silas quickly moved up into the top-15 where he stayed during much of the race’s first quarter. The goal leaning into the event was to stay on track, gather more experience and leave in one-piece.

Early on, the goals were being exceeded with Silas hovering between the 13th and 16th positions. Soon though, the question of whether the ARCA competitors could compete in the rain would be answered inside the event’s first 20 laps when rain began to fall around the 2.034-mile road course.

The yellow flag would waive over the field a short time later allowing teams to switch their Hoosier slicks for Hoosier wets and prepare to return to racing in damp conditions. Silas had never competed in any type of race in the rain before so the challenge was one that he wanted to conquer.

Silas handled the rain well. While the Fast Track Racing driver was unable to turn some of the laps of some of the more experienced road-course ringers who had previously competed in the rain – Silas was achieving his goals while grasping an opportunity that he had never had the chance to obtain before.

A heavy rainfall would begin to pour six laps from the finish immediately throwing out a caution with the field being told that the race would be rain-shortened to 70 laps instead of the event’s scheduled 75 circuits.

With limited vision, Silas would have to rely on coaching and guidance from several spotters around the course to guide him to the checkered flag. He landed in 16th, finishing exactly where he started.

“Overall, it was an eventful race but we made it,” sounded Silas. “I’m proud of the Fast Track Racing team. They worked hard all weekend and they kept me confident behind the wheel.”

When asked about racing in the rain, Silas said, “It was interesting. It wasn’t bad at some points but it was something that you have to get used to doing. There at the end of the race, I couldn’t see anything. They (ARCA) did the right thing by calling it when they did.”

The effort on Saturday moved Silas from ninth to seventh in the championship standings just 30 points from the fifth position and 85 credits from the lead held by race-winner Justin Marks.

Nason, Yeager, Gerson, White & Lioce P.A., American Custom Yachts, Inc., Palm Beach Grading (PBG) and Rockingham Speedway all sponsored Silas’s Ford Fusion for his 73rd career ARCA start.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is a stop at Salem (Ind.) Speedway for the running of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 on Sunday, April 11 for round three on the 2010 schedule.

For more on Bryan Silas please visit, BryanSilasRacing.com.

Visit Fast Track Racing on the web at, FastTrackRacing.com.

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Palm Beach Brings Clear Goal For Bryan Silas

JUPITER, Florida (February 24, 2010) - - Stuart, Florida native Bryan Silas has a lot to be looking forward to when the ARCA Racing Series invades Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway this week – but the veteran ARCA racer also has a clear goal for Saturday’s Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace. Finish the race.

With the ARCA Racing Series switching tactics and mounting a second race in February, Silas is looking forward to racing in his backyard especially after his super finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway two weeks ago.

“It’s going to be sweet to have a race near home,” said Silas. “As a team we’re looking forward to keeping our early season success going.”

While Silas admits he is not a road course wiz, he has over the past two years been able to come to terms with the concept thanks to plenty of experience at driving schools and two events at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
"I'm not a road course specialist by any means, but it will be nice to have some hometown support,” sounded Silas. “We always race out of town, so it feels good to finally get to do it in my own backyard not to mention getting to sleep in my own bed the night after the race."
And because Silas understands that he's not a road course guy by trade, he has invited some outside help.
"We've got a guy coming down from South Carolina to work with me - Matt Mullins. He's going to help spot for me on the backside of the course with Andy (Hillenburg, car owner) spotting on the other side."
In addition to the additional help from Mullins at Palm Beach, that's not all that has changed in the Fast Track Racing camp. Bryant Frazier, who it was announced would be Silas's crew chief for the 2010 season, left the team after Daytona in favor of an opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing. “I appreciated the time I had with Bryant,” Silas added. “He is a great guy and I wish him nothing but the best in his new endeavor.”
As one door closes, another one opens as Fast Track Racing welcomes aboard Dennis Conner who brings an impressive resume to Fast Track including a tenure at Hendrick Motorsports and three championship rings in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Jack Sprague. “I’ve been talking to Dennis a lot. He seems like a very knowledgeable guy. Andy (Hillenburg) is very comfortable with him, so I’m not worried at all,” said Silas.
Silas, after the ninth place finish at Daytona, is currently ninth in points headed to Palm Beach, However, only Patrick Sheltra (currently fifth in points), another Floridian, is the only ARCA regular ahead of Silas in points. With a good, solid top-10 run at Palm Beach, Silas has an opportunity to be leading the points when the checkered flag falls.
"The best case scenario at Palm Beach would obviously be a win," added Silas. "But, I'm not an experienced road racer. I go into every race now thinking I can win, but realistically, if we could come out with the car in one piece and a top-10 finish, I'd be ecstatic.
"Unlike New Jersey, this track's hard on brakes. You're reaching speeds of 150 miles per hour plus and then down to 35, 40 miles per hour for some of these corners. The person who still has his equipment under him at the end is going to win.
"If there's anything that I learned in the test, it's that this is a very challenging course. There's absolutely no runoff. If you spin off here, you're going to hit something. Attrition is definitely going to play a role."
Nason, Yeager, Gerson, White & Lioce P.A., American Custom Yachts, Inc., Palm Beach Grading (PBG) and Rockingham Speedway will all sponsor Silas’s Ford Fusion for his 73rd career ARCA start.

The Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace (75 laps / 150 miles) is the second of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The first ARCA race held at Palm Beach is a two day show. Practice begins Friday, February 26 with a three hour practice session planned from 11:30a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day Friday, February 26 slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Saturday, February 27 shortly after 1:00 p.m. The race will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring and radio broadcast will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

How did the race feel for you? did you enjoy it?

Qualified 5th!!! Way to go Bryan Silas!!