ARCA Regular Silas Prepares For Lakeland With USAR Effort

Florida Native Tackling Lakeland USAR Style

STUART, Florida (March 7, 2007) - - With his inaugural ARCA RE/MAX Series debut at USA International Speedway approaching, rookie Bryan Silas plans to jump ahead of his competition by competing in the United Speed Alliance Racing (USAR) Hooter's Pro Cup Series season opener from USA International Speedway in Saturday’s Sears Auto Center 200.

Silas, a native of Stuart, Florida will pilot the No. 80 Ford Fusion owned by Troy Baird. Baird is no stranger to success in the USAR Series, as former drivers include Clay Rogers, the 2006 USAR Pro Cup Champion. Rogers will be on hand this weekend to mentor Silas.

"I'm excited about this weekend," said Silas, who drives the No. 11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. "A lot of people have been responsible for putting this deal together. I'm very thankful for the opportunity and I think our chances look great for Saturday."

_Nortrax_ (http://www.nortrax.com/servlet/nortrax/index) , _Holland Pump_ (http://www.hollandpump.com/) and Palm Beach Grading (PBG) will all serve as sponsors of Silas's entry as he attempts to make the first of several USAR starts this season. His sponsors will also make the jump to the ARCA side when Silas joins the rest of his regular colleagues two weeks later for the second event on the ARCA schedule.

"We have some brand new sponsors aboard," continued Silas. "I am very thrilled and honored to have them aboard and I know the team is too. They are going to join us through the ARCA event, so we hope to give them two wins in the next two weeks; we definitely have a lot to be looking forward to." Luckily, Silas won't be a loner in Lakeland this weekend as his Fast Track Racing team led by car owner Andy Hillenburg and crew chief Dave McClure will make the trip down south and aid their driver as he attempts to log more laps to boost his racing resume.

McClure will call the shots this weekend, while former ARCA champion Hillenburg will take the reins as spotter with the remainder of the Fast Track Racing (FTR) team attending to the car.

"You have no idea what it means to have my ARCA crew coming to Lakeland," continued Silas. "They are real troopers. It shows they care about my racing career and will make any effort needed to help me achieve my goals. I couldn't ask to be associated with a better bunch."

Silas has already logged an enormous amount of laps around the 3/4-mile bullring as the avid late model competitor participated in private testing sessions at the Lakeland, Florida based facility this past off-season. "No doubt the testing will pay off this weekend. However, this is another test for us. We're going to utilize this race as a test for the upcoming ARCA event. The more laps that we can log, the bigger advantage I think we can have. I know that the cars and tires are different, but I think we'll find some stuff which could help us later this month. Obviously our main goal is to come away from Lakeland with the best finish possible."

Following USA International Speedway, Silas plans to make an additional five to seven USAR starts this season with the races being announced at a later date.

The Sears Auto Center 200 is the first of 21 events on the 2007 USAR Hooter’ s Pro Cup Southern Division's schedule. The event is set for Saturday, March 10 with the green flag scheduled for 7:30pm EST.