Charlotte: Bryan Silas preview

Silas Hoping To Learn At Lowes Motor Speedway

CONCORD, North Carolina (May 17, 2007) - - Bryan Silas is ready to return to NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing on Friday night at Lowes Motor Speedway (LMS). The Stuart, Florida native enters the Quaker Steak & Lube 200 on the heels of a successful open test at LMS last week.

While planning to bring his No. 71 Fast Track High Performance Driving School-Palm Beach Grading (PBG) Silverado home in the top-20 is a realistic goal, Silas also hopes to continue to earn the respect of his fellow competitors by driving a smart and clean race.

"It's exciting to be going to Lowe's Motor Speedway," said Silas, also a rookie in the ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS). "We learned a lot in our first race at Kansas Speedway last month, but I'm learning a heck of a lot more this time. I think testing paid its dividends. We're just looking to back up what we ran and we should qualify solidly into the field."

Indeed, testing was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Fast Track Racing development driver after his inaugural debut at Kansas where the rookie posted a clean 29th place finish after starting 36th. "We didn't have the opportunity to test our truck at Kansas, but we battled like soldiers during the race and brought the truck home in one piece. It's because of that run we elected to give this race a try," explained Silas.

When asked about his goals for Friday night's show under the lights, Silas's answer was firm. Finish. "We're not coming out to set the world on fire. We're coming to LMS for a couple different reasons. I need more seat time in a truck because we're going to run some more races later in the year. Two, my team Fast Track Racing is new at NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing. We are all rookies. So the more we're at the track, the more we're going to learn.

And finally, I want to earn the respect of my fellow competitors. If the opportunity ever came to run full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, I would want my peers to be comfortable racing with me. I want to race with the trucks we can and finish the race. We did it at Kansas, we can do it again."

Following the NCTS activities at LMS Friday, Silas will hop in a plane and head to Toledo Speedway for his normal routine in the ARCA RE/MAX Series behind the wheel of the No. 11 Nortrax-Shell Rotella Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Silas enters the fourth short track race of the season 10th in the championship standing looking for his third top-10 of the season.

"It's a busy weekend, but I'm looking forward to it," offered Silas. "I've got a great team on both sides and everyone is supportive. We hope to have a good day on Friday and if we don't then its okay cause we have another shot on Sunday at Toledo."

-credit: ftr