Bryan Silas Storms To Another Top-10 In Iowa

Topics:  Bryan Silas, Prairie Meadows 250

Chris Knight
Fast Track Racing
April 22, 2008

NEWTON, Iowa (April 22, 2008) - - Bryan Silas backed up his performance from Salem Speedway last weekend with a noteworthy eighth place finish in Saturday’s Prairie Meadows 250 at Iowa Speedway.

The Stuart, Florida native returned to Iowa Speedway looking for vengeance after 2007 yielded a remarkable performance but a sour finish. This year, Silas brought back the same attitude, a slick looking Ford Fusion and the experience of crew chief Jeff McClure.

For the second consecutive week, Mother Nature had other plans for the ARCA RE/MAX Series as rain dampened activities on Friday, forcing the cancellation of practice and subsequently ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying. The lineup would be set by 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series car owner standings putting the No. 11 Ford Fusion on the starting grid.

Saturday brought cloudy skies but hardly any serious precipitation. Track drying conditions took longer than expected triggering a very short practice session before the start of the 250-lap event.

In the session, Silas posted the 15th fastest lap with a time of 24.779 seconds at 127.124 MPH. “I wasn’t pedaling full throttle,” Silas said after practice. “I just wasn’t 100 percent comfortable with the condition of the track. There was no need to go out there and wreck our racecar. A lot of momentum is riding with us into this race and I truly want to make the best of it.”

That momentum clearly showed throughout the Prairie Meadows 250. At the start of the third race of the season, Silas immediately began picking off positions following fellow driver Tom Hessert III through the field. Picking off the cars of Tayler Malsam, Dominick Casola and John Wes Townley within the first five laps of the event would see the No. 11 cleanly into the top-10.

Silas would hardly find himself outside the top-10 for his second trip to Iowa Speedway. When the first caution flag of the day waived, Silas continued to rest comfortably inside the top-10 reporting to crew chief Jeff McClure that his car was tight but drivable.

Silas joined much of the competition on pit road on lap 31 where the teams took advantage of the first yellow to make adjustments to their automobiles before returning to action.

Solid work by the Fast Track Racing bunch would return Silas back into battle aiming for a march ahead towards the top-five.

On the restart, Silas showed his mature driving style and hovered inside the top-10 until lap 75 when the No. 11 had rose to the runner-up position when the caution flag waived and a number of the leaders darted to pit road.

Back to racing, Silas remained on his game and continued to hold position in the top-10 despite dealing with an incredibly tight Ford and being overtaken by cars on fresher tires.

The next caution flag would allow another chance for Silas to come to pit road and redeem himself before setting up for the second half of the event.

Maintaining a quiet position inside the top-10 during the second-half, the caution flag would fly inside fifty circuits remaining. The yellow flag proved to be the saving grace for the 20-year old rising star. Silas informed his team that he had a flat tire and was coming to pit road. Under the yellow, Silas brought his Ford to the attention of his team where they were able to change tires and return to competition.

On the restart, Silas was able to roar back through the field, claiming his spot back inside the top-10 and put on an aggressive and clean battle with the No. 60 of Patrick Sheltra to claim eighth, again for the second straight week tying his career-best finish.

The hard fought effort rewarded Silas with his fifth career top-10 finish in 32 career ARCA RE/MAX Series starts.

“It was a strong weekend for our team,” said Silas after the event. “We didn’t have a race-winning car but we had a car that was capable of finishing in the top-10 and that’s exactly what we did.”

He continued, “Hats off to the entire bunch at Fast Track Racing. They did a great job this weekend and I can’t say enough about Jeff McClure. He has inspired me to become a better racecar driver and his knowledge and guidance is what has turned this team around. I’m looking forward to Kansas .”

Leaving Iowa, Silas has 32 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with a career best finish of eighth at 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 23 laps in two races.

Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is a one-day show at Kansas Speedway for the running of the Kansas Lottery $150 Grand set for Friday April 25th, the fourth installment on the 2008 calendar. Last year, Silas finished 22nd after starting 16th.

For more on Bryan Silas please visit, BryanSilasRacing.com.
Visit Fast Track Racing on the web at, FastTrackRacing.com.
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