Bryan Silas Hopes Gateway Offers Career Weekend
Bryan Silas Hopes Gateway Offers Career Weekend MADISON, Illinois (August 30, 2007) - - ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Bryan Silas heads to Gateway International Raceway feeling a little bruised but upbeat after a career best finish was flattened following a flat tire inside 25 laps from the finish last Sunday in the Governor’s Cup 200. Praising the team for their hard efforts last weekend, Silas heads to the Gateway this week looking for redemption and vows to try and repeat his performance from last weekend under the lights on Friday night. “I’m looking forward to Gateway for more than just one reason,�?? said Silas, driver of the No. 11 Nortrax-Shell Rotella T-Palm Beach Grading Chevrolet Monte Carlo. “For one, I’m looking forward to night racing, while also looking to finish what we started last Sunday at Milwaukee.�?? He continued, “We had a great race last weekend, I mean one of the best of the season. We had our fourth top-10 of the season in the books and before we could even blink an eye, it was gone. On the other hand, we said all along that the second half of the season was going to be our strongest. We didn’t lie. We just can’t seem to catch the breaks that we need to produce the finishes our teams and sponsors deserve. Hopefully the monkey will take a break this weekend and we can put our Chevrolet into the top-10.�?? When asked about returning to racing under the lights Silas offered, “the lights are awesome; it’s probably one of the greatest benefits of being a race car driver. Not only is it much cooler for us drivers, but everyone seems to get up on the wheel and really drive. It’s fun for me, because it’s also a challenge. Concentration is the key in night racing. You have to hit your marks every single lap and believe me I don’t plan to miss a beat on Friday night. �?? Unlike some of the tracks Silas has debuted at this season, the Stuart, Florida native has some experience at the legendary track as his Fast Track Racing team participated in the open-test a few weeks ago. “The test was right in the middle of a hectic week for us,�?? continued Silas. “We were sandbagging during the test, we used the open practice as a chance for me to acquire some laps. We’re going to have a heck of a time on Friday and I think the track time we did receive will pay its dividends.�?? Nortrax, Shell Rotella T, Holland Pump and Palm Beach Grading (PBG) will all sponsor the No. 11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the sixth ARCA event held at the Gateway International Raceway. “We had several members of Nortrax come to Milwaukee and cheer us on. Even though they won’t be in attendance at Gateway, we know they will be watching from home along with our other sponsors. I appreciate everyone’s support and we ’ll give it our all on Friday night.�?? Heading into Gateway, Silas has 23 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with a career best finish of eighth at Salem Speedway (April 2007) 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 15 laps in one race. The Gateway ARCA 150 (120 laps/150 miles) is the 18th of 23 races on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The sixth ARCA race held at Gateway International Raceway is a one day show. Practice begins Friday, August 31 with a two hour practice session planned from 10:30am-12:30pm. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 4:30pm Local Time. The event will take the green flag shortly after 8:00pm Local Time. The race will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage online at _arcaracing.com_ (http://www.arcaracing.com/) . For more on Bryan Silas please visit, _BryanSilasRacing.com_ (http://www.bryansilasracing.com/) Visit Fast Track Racing on the web at, _FastTrackRacing.com_ (http://www.fasttrackracing.com/) Bryan Silas, Fast Track Racing, Gateway International Raceway Notes of Interest: · Bryan Silas will make his inaugural debut at Gateway International Raceway Friday night. For the 11th different time this season, Silas will make his first start at a track he hasn’t seen before. · Silas is spending his first full season of racing competition not only competing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, but also has frequent starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and USAR Hooter’s Pro Cup Series. · Silas will make 480 left hand turns on Saturday. · Silas is scheduled to complete 250 miles in two events in three days. After competing in the Gateway ARCA 150 on Friday night, Silas will head to DuQuoin, Illinois on Monday for his second and final dirt track race of the season in the Southern Illinois 100. Picture Captions: 1) The No. 11 Nortrax-Shell Rotella T-Holland Pump-Palm Beach Grading Chevrolet Monte Carlo. 2) ARCA RE/MAX Series rookie Bryan Silas. MEDIA CONTACT: NAME: Chris Knight, Fast Track Racing PHONE: 239.834.9797 EMAIL: _Knight849@aol.com_ (mailto:Knight849@aol.com) ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour