Keeping your car clean usually results in a good finish at Salem Speedway and ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie-of-the-Year contender Bryan Silas can attest to that statement as the Florida native answered his Salem Speedway debut with an impressive eighth place finish behind the wheel of Andy Hillenburg’s No. 11 Nortrax-Shell Rotella T Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Even with intense testing before arriving at the half-mile track on Saturday, Silas was remaining quiet and cool about his thoughts on the track that some call a Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway in one. By the end of practice, Silas wasn’t so sure he had the same feelings about Salem when he walked in on Friday.
After an uncharacteristic practice performance for Silas, he vowed to put his machine into the starting grid. While his time trials lap wasn’t strong, it was solid and earned him a berth for his 10th ARS (ARCA RE/MAX Series) start.
Rolling from the 27th position, Silas with advice from ARCA RE/MAX Series champion and car owner Andy Hillenburg reminded the rookie to keep his focus, pay attention and prepare for some beating and banging.
At the start, Silas took off. Literally. Picking off several positions on the start, Silas immediately sounded into the top-20 by the time the series went under its first yellow flag nearing lap 20.
Having some fun, but protecting his car, Silas continued to battle his way towards the front. Picking his competition off one at a time, the No. 11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo quietly worked its way into the top-15 when the first and only planned round of pit stops occurred nearing halfway.
The avid late model competitor brought his machine down to the attention of his Fast Track Racing (FTR) crew. The team put four new tires and added fuel, but the stop didn’t come without incident. The tire changers struggled during the stop, but bounced back like professionals putting Silas back into competition.
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