Phillip Mcgilton A Serious Sleeper For ARCA Season Opener

Phillip Mcgilton A Serious Sleeper For ARCA Season Opener

Daytona Beach, Fla
Feb 08, 2007

As the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series opener draws near, Phillip McGilton (pronounced McJilton) hopes to draw some focus to his SI Performance Motorsports team as the group has spent most of the off-season preparing for the ARCA 200 at Daytona.

McGilton, prepared to make his ARS (ARCA RE/MAX Series) debut at the “World Center of Speed” feels that a strong start to the season could lean towards even better opportunities for the ’07 season.

“As a team, we’re excited about heading to Daytona, ” said McGilton. “Our goal is to come out of Daytona looking like champions. My team has worked very hard since the open test hoping to put together a winning racecar. I feel we have a shot. ”

There’s good reason that the team is showing some early race confidence. In December, McGilton was one of a record 70 teams that participated in the three-day open test session at the 2.5-mile power plant. In unofficial overall testing results, the team posted the 18th fastest effort with a quick lap of 49.899 seconds at 180.364 MPH.

“Our Daytona preseason testing was a success, ” added McGilton, a native of Illinois. “This is the same car that we attempted to make Talladega with before the engine stalled. It’s a great piece of equipment; we’re looking forward to making some noise on Saturday. ”

Talladega was extreme disappoint for the team. After posting some very quick and impressive laps, a fumble in qualifying underneath the hood kept the team from making the Food World 250. Should the unthinkable bite the team again this week in Daytona, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. The organization has acquired the owners points from the No. 47 ARCA RE/MAX Series entry that finished ninth in 2006 point standings automatically locking McGilton in for his seventh ARCA start of his career.

“It’s a relief for us to know that we’re going to race on Saturday, ” McGilton mentioned. “My team has worked too hard and countless amount of hours to have an equipment failure keep us out of the limelight again. This (race) is an opportunity for us all to never forget. ”

SI Performance return as the primary sponsor of the No. 47 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for the 44th ARCA RE/MAX event held at Daytona International Speedway.

SI Performance is a mixture between a speed shop, off-road shop and a vehicle customization shop. SI Performance strives for their shop to exceed every expectation you might have for an automotive performance shop. SI Performance installs everything they sell, including quality products from WARN, Tera Manufacturing, Interco, Pit Bull, Holley, FK Rod Ends, Impact, Simpson, Demon, NOS and Banks.

“It’s great to have our SI Performance on board for the 2007 opener, ” commented McGilton. “This race is the biggest on the schedule. There is a lot of hype surrounding the event and we hope to have our sponsor apart of that. ”

Heading into Daytona, McGilton has six ARCA RE//MAX Series starts to his credit with a career best finish of ninth at Kansas Speedway (July 2006). He has also qualified a career best of 15th at Kansas Speedway (July 2006) and Nashville Superspeedway (August 2006).

The ARCA 200 at Daytona (80 laps/200 miles) is the first of 23 events on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. Practice begins Thursday, February 8 with a five-hour (12:00pm-5:00pm EST) practice session planned. Qualifying is slated for Friday, February 9 at 12:00pm EST. Final practice is limited to 55 minutes (5:15-6:10pm EST) on Friday evening. The ARCA 200 at Daytona will be aired live on SPEED beginning at 4:00pm EST.