SPARTA, Kentucky - Smart driving and a little luck paid off in a big way for Fast Track Racing and driver Bryan Silas in Saturday’s Drive Smart!Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 at Kentucky Speedway.
After a frustrating finish in the ARCA RE/MAX Series past two events at Kansas Speedway and Rockingham Speedway respectively, Silas was looking to regain the early season strength his team showed at Salem Speedway and Iowa Speedway. The team felt if any facility was able to put them back on track, Kentucky Speedway was the place.
The lone practice session of the weekend saw Silas in the No. 11 Nortrax Shell Rotella T Ford Fusion post the 21st fastest effort after mounting a time of 31.287 seconds or 172.596 mph. “We’re not bad, but were not great either,” said Silas following the session. “Jeff and I are talking about what changes to make for us to do better in qualifying and the race tonight. Practice doesn’t mean a whole lot, I’m confident in our abilities and we have to keep the big picture in mind.”
A mid-pack qualifying draw saw Silas tackle the 1.5-mile speedway with a time of 31.503 seconds at 171.412 mph locking the team 23rd on the starting grid. “We’re not happy with that effort,” Silas said. “While we’re disappointed, we have to turn our concentration towards the race. We need to have a good race. I’m going to try and stay out of trouble and bring home a finish we all can be satisfied with.”
At the start of the Drive Smart! Buckle-Up Kentucky 150, Silas comfortably found himself in the top-20. Coaching from two-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Andy Hillenburg would see Silas move into the 21st position when the first caution flag waived on lap five.
Back to green, Silas was able to gain further track position by climbing into the 16th spot when the second caution flag waived on lap 12 when another competitor’s motor expired.
On the restart, Silas patiently began working his way up through the scoring pylon, despite getting nailed on the restart from behind. Silas was encouraged by Crew Chief Jeff McClure to keep hustling and they would correct the damage on the next caution.
The yellow flag waived on lap 27 allowing Silas to make the trip down pit road on lap 29 for four tires, fuel and damage repair. Staying on the lead lap, Silas was reminded by McClure to stay focused and drive hard.
Running comfortably in the top-20 the next yellow flag would serve as a perfect opportunity for Silas and Company to stay out. With several cars taking the turn to pit road, Silas had climbed into the top-10 for the restart.
Despite trying to fend off cars with fresher rubber on the restart, Silas gave no mercy. Making each car fight for every position, the 20-year old driver found himself hovering in the top-15.
The final trip to pit road came on lap 76 giving Silas four tires and plenty of fuel for the end.
The final stretch of the race would be well-stretched with four green-white-checkered attempts. A series of incidents would see Silas make ground in the running order moving up from the 18th position and return to the top-10 on the final attempt.
Silas would find himself in the best battle of the track coming to the checkered flag with Brett Hudson and Patrick Sheltra. With the two Dodges trying to gang up on Silas’s blue oval, the No. 11 would fall just inches short of a career best ARCA finish with Sheltra grabbing the seventh spot behind Hudson.
| 
|