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Bryan Silas Rockets To Season Best Finish At Salem

Topics: Bryan Silas, Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic

Bryan Silas Rockets To Season Best Finish At Salem

Chris Knight
September 20, 2010

SALEM, Indiana (September 20, 2010) - - ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menard driver Bryan Silas recorded his season-best finish on Saturday night in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic at the historic Salem (Ind.) Speedway, giving the Stuart, Florida native some much needed momentum with just two races remaining on the schedule.

It’s not surprising that Silas’s best finish of the year thus far occurred at the tricky and treacherous Salem (Ind.) Speedway. The half-mile bullring is known as one of the toughest on ARCA’s 20-race schedule but Silas, once again, showcased on Saturday night that he has what it takes to tame the demanding racecourse.

Continuing to build a comfort zone with new crew chief Wayne Giles, Silas, in the No. 11 Rockingham Speedway / Palm Beach Grading Ford Fusion, posted the 12th fastest lap in the lone practice on Saturday afternoon. Somewhat satisfied with their efforts, the team opted to make a few tweaks on their Fast Track Racing (FTR) automobile hoping to gain them additional speed in qualifying.

To their liking, Silas’s black and purple Ford Fusion did pick-up in Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying, two tenths of a second to be exact, good enough to place the Floridian 14th on the starting grid.

From the drop of the green flag, Silas, with guidance from spotter and car owner Andy Hillenburg, began maneuvering his way through the field and had rocketed his No. 11 Rockingham Speedway / Palm Beach Grading Ford Fusion into the top-10 by lap 50. A yellow flag would soon waive allowing Silas to make his mandatory pit stop where Giles would call for a two-tire stop and Sunoco racing fuel. A solid stop by the pit crew positioned the team inside the top-10 on the restart.

Under wicked fast racing conditions, Silas would hover his blue oval comfortably in the top-10 holding steadfast between seventh and ninth. Able to keep his machine on the lead lap, Silas would welcome the second caution flag of the evening approaching lap 130.

Gearing up for the remainder of the 200-lap slugfest, Silas brought his machine to the attention of his FTR crew where they bolted on four new Hoosier tires, added fuel and made a slight chassis adjustment to challenge a loose race car for the popular ARCA driver.

Restarting in the ninth position, Silas would utilize the remainder of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic to pick off two more positions and find himself locked in seventh.

“We needed this run,” said a jubilant Silas after the race. “Kudos to the entire Fast Track Racing team for a virtually flawless night. Man, what a quick race though. 200 laps went by fast. That just shows how great the competition is in the ARCA Racing Series. We had a good car. Wayne (Giles) made some minor changes to the car during our two pit stops to make it better and we were able to hold our own in the top-10. We gained some points in our bid to finish inside the top-10 in the championship points too. So, all in all it was a great night and hopefully we can nail out two more strong runs at Kansas and Rockingham.”

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards is their annual trip out west to Kansas Speedway. The ARCA Kansas Lottery 150 is set for Thursday afternoon September 30. Silas will make his fourth career start at the mile-and-a-half speedway. The 19th race of the season will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 4:00 p.m. (CST.) with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the day available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

Nason, Yeager, Gerson, White & Lioce P.A., MTW Services, Inc., Palm Beach Grading (PBG) and Rockingham Speedway all sponsored Silas’s Ford Fusion for his 89th career ARCA start.

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

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

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