Fast Track Racing; Bryan Silas Confident After Daytona Test

Topics:  Bryan Silas

Chris Knight
Fast Track Racing
December 20, 2007

CHARLOTE, North Carolina (December 20, 2007) - - Stuart, Florida’s Bryan Silas new leadership from veteran Motorsports crew chief Jeff McClure showed strong results last weekend from Daytona International Speedway (DIS) after Silas turned some very impressive laps behind the wheel of Andy Hillenburg’s No. 11 Ford Fusion during ARCA’s pre-season test in preparation for the ARCA 200 at Daytona,

Making his debut at Daytona International Speedway this past February, Silas looked strong but knew that there is always room for improvement and with the knowledge of McClure it was not a surprise to see the 20-year old Silas near the top of the charts.

On Friday, Silas quickly found himself in the top-20 after posting a lap of 50.614 seconds at 177.816 MPH. “Hey, I’m really happy with that,” said Silas, who finished ninth in ARCA RE/MAX Series points in his inaugural season of competition. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to have Jeff McClure a part of this team. I learn so much from him and he puts the pressure on, but it’s in a good way. He is going to help make this team successful in 2008. We weren’t expecting to be this fast on the first day.”

With rain soaking the 2.5-mile speedway on Saturday morning, teams would have to wait an additional three and a half hours before taking to the track. Despite posting a slightly slower time with a lap of 50.786 seconds or 177.214 MPH. Silas wasn’t discouraged by the time yet eager to get back on track and pick up the pace. “You can be near the top of the charts one minute and nearly at the bottom the next, it’s Daytona. The biggest obstacle we’re looking at is making sure our racecar handles. Jeff is a wiz. He is making a ton of adjustments; it’s all in an effort to bring this team to the top,” Silas mentioned.

During Saturday’s afternoon drafting session the Fast Track Racing team didn’t post the time they were looking for after notching the 34th fastest lap with a time of 51.093 seconds at 176.149 MPH. Baffled by the time the team opted to switch motors for Sunday’s primary drafting session with the team eager to get Silas in the thundering pack. “We felt like we were having a problem with the motor and it’s always better to be safe than sorry, so we’ll make the change and hope it’s the right move for Sunday,” Silas sounded.

For the third consecutive day, the ARCA teams were halted after rain drenching Daytona International Speedway forcing the teams to sit back and wait. The track was dry by 11:30am with Silas in line and ready to take to the track. During the limited single-car runs on Sunday, Silas marched to a time of 50.464 seconds amounting to a speed of 178.345 MPH, his fastest lap of the weekend. “Yep, the engine change worked,” stated Silas, who will run a full ARCA schedule in 2008. “Swapping out the motor proved to be the correct thing to do for the Fast Track Racing team and we’ll hope that we can do even more in the draft.”

Silas didn’t have to wait long to get in a tight bunch Sunday afternoon as Silas quickly mixed himself into a group of very fast racecars with Michael Faulk, Patrick Sheltra, Gabi DiCarlo and Chase Austin. After posting some successful laps, crew chief Jeff McClure called his sophomore-bound driver back to pit road for a series of adjustments. It paid off. During his next round, Silas roared to the 11th fastest lap of the drafting day after eclipsing a time of 49.730 seconds at 180.977 MPH. Silas climbed from his car with an hour remaining and called it a weekend.

“Our car was very strong in the draft,” Silas noted. “We still have some work to do, but we are going to come back and be even stronger. I owe a lot to my team and my crew chief Jeff McClure. He has promised me that we’re going to come back and be even better. I am definitely looking forward to getting the new season underway.”

From Daytona, the Fast Track Racing team will enjoy the Holiday break before getting back to business by competing in a private test with a number of ARCA RE/MAX Series teams at Talladega Superspeedway in January.

For more on Bryan Silas please visit, BryanSilasRacing.com
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