Bryan Silas Eager For Cayuga Journey

Topics:  Bryan Silas, Cayuga ARCA RE/MAX 250

Chris Knight
Fast Track Racing
June 25, 2008

HAGERSVILLE, ONTARIO (June 25, 2008) - - Fresh off of a nice top-20 finish in the USAR Hooter’s Pro Cup Series event at Myrtle Beach Speedway last weekend, sophomore ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Bryan Silas is ready to grab his ARCA suit and join the rest of the teams across the border for the running of the Cayuga ARCA RE/MAX 250 at Cayuga Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon.

While the Stuart, Florida native isn’t sure what to really expect out of the tricky short track, Silas is hoping that his previous short track experience in both ARCA and USAR will pay off in a big way and award the Fast Track Racing team with their first top-five of the 2008 season.

“Cayuga, here we come,” said Silas, who recently turned 21. “It’s a new challenge but we’re welcoming it with open arms and hope that luck is on our side in Canada.”

As far as what to expect this weekend at Cayuga Motor Speedway, Silas is extremely optimistic.

“We didn’t have the opportunity to go out and test at Cayuga Motor Speedway, so we’re going to have to rely on our notes from Toledo and work from there. I’m not worried because my crew chief Jeff McClure seems to be an expert on these short tracks, so I’m confident we’ll unload competitive.”

Looking to recover from the team’s last outing at Michigan International Speedway where Silas steered his No. 11 Nortrax-Shell Rotella T Ford Fusion to a 21st place finish, Silas is ready to put his team back in the top-10 for a fourth time this year.

“We thought Michigan would go better than it did,” Silas admitted. “We found out after the race that we had a parts failure which kept us out of the hunt. A good run on Sunday afternoon would be a nice rebound for this team.”

With the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series half-way point quickly approaching, Silas admits the team has improved from last season but the bar will be raised another notch in the final 11 races.

“You would think that 11 races is a long way to go, but I guarantee you they will go by quickly. I’m proud of the success we’ve had thus far this season, but we’re not there yet. I feel with what we’ve learned in the first nine races and what we can learn in Canada this weekend can help Fast Track Racing become an even stronger team in the second half. We want to be comfortably inside the top-10 in points by Toledo (October), so we’ll have to work a little harder to make it a reality.”

Currently holding the 13th place in the ARCA RE/MAX Series point standings, Silas knows that a position has been lost from Michigan and he needs a strong run to rally back into the picture.

“We can’t afford to keep losing ground in the standings,” Silas sounded. “We’re trying to put this team in the top-10, which is where we feel we belong. Our strength this season has seemed to come on the short tracks, so I’m hoping that we’ll be able to maneuver a strong run and give our team some confidence heading to the next race.”

Nortrax, Shell Rotella T, Holland Pump, ICI Homes, Palm Beach Grading (PBG) and Rockingham Speedway will all sponsor the No. 11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the 10th event on the 2008 ARCA calendar.

“I think Cayuga is an important race for the ARCA RE/MAX Series, so it’s a shame that there is no extreme television coverage. While there is no television, we still have to be competitive and walk away with a good finish that our sponsors can be satisfied with.”

Entering Cayuga, Silas has 39 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with a career best finish of eighth at Kentucky Speedway (May 2008), Iowa Speedway (April 2008), Salem Speedway (April 2007 and April 2008) and Kentucky Speedway (July 2007) while holding an additional top-10 performance at USA International Speedway (March 2007). He holds a career best short track time trials effort of seventh at Berlin Raceway (July 2007). A fourth place qualifying effort at Pocono Raceway (June 2007) is Silas's best speedway run to date. He has controlled the ARCA field for 26 laps in three races.

The Cayuga ARCA RE/MAX 250 (156.25 miles/250 laps) is the 10th of 21 events on the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The first ARCA event held at Cayuga Motor Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Saturday, June 28 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. The field will take the green flag on Sunday, June 29 shortly after 1:30 p.m. The race will not be televised however, additional race coverage including live timing and scoring will be available online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

For more on Bryan Silas please visit, BryanSilasRacing.com.
Visit Rockingham Speedway on the web at, Rockinghamracewaypark.com.
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