The No 71 Gateway Insurance Chevrolet Silverado at Kansas Speedway. (Charles Krall/TruckSeries.com Photo)

Mission Accomplished. Those two words seemed to spiral from the entire Fast Track Racing team at Kansas Speedway last Saturday afternoon when Bryan Silas, a rookie in the ARCA RE/MAX Series made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) debut.

Silas had a busy weekend. In addition to driving the No. 71 Gateway Insurance Chevrolet Silverado the Stuart, Florida native also competed in the Kansas Lottery $150 Grand in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

In practice leading up to qualifying in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Silas only had 13 laps in his Silverado. Unable to determine exactly how his truck was handling, Silas knew in qualifying he was going to give 150 percent.

Before tackling the 1.5-speed plant in time trials, Silas had an opportunity to chat with 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Todd Bodine who offered the youngster advice for his first go-around in the trucks.

"It was awesome to talk with Todd. He is a champion of this series. The advice he gave me will stick in my head for not only this weekend but for the rest of the year. I want to thank him for that."

In qualifying, Silas maneuvered a lap of 34.940 seconds at 154.551 MPH putting him 36th on the starting grid. "We were tight, really tight," said Silas after his run. "I'm not worried about where we are starting we're going to finish better than that. This race is for us to gain more knowledge about the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and have some fun. We're going to stick by that plan."

The event was a learning experience for Silas. Dealing with the constant changes of a truck didn't seem to affect the Fast Track Racing developmental driver and it showed with a respectable 29th place finish in the O'Reilly 250.

"This is a day I'll never forget," said Silas of his NCTS debut. "I learned an awful lot out there today and it will only help me for future truck races."

Silas, who will run a limited NCTS schedule this season added, "Our truck was getting better the more we were adjusting on it. We didn't have a lot of practice with it, but the changes we made showed in our lap times."

Silas was congratulated by many following his inaugural run including NASCAR who approved Silas and his Fast Track Racing team to compete in the next event at Lowes Motor Speedway on May 18.

"It means an awful lot to me to be approved to run at Lowes Motor Speedway," Silas added. "We're going to participate in the open-test session there in a couple weeks which will allow me to get familiar with the track while also learning more about these trucks. They are fun to drive, but there is a lot to learn."

Silas's wrap-up of his positive weekend would not be complete without the help of his sponsors Gateway Insurance and Picerne Military Housing. Fast Track Racing hosted nine soldiers at the track on Saturday allowing them to feel the full force of NASCAR racing.

"I really want to say thanks to our sponsors," he said. "Without them I would not be where I am today. They were important to us last weekend and they will be important to us for the rest of the year. I especially want to thank the military soldiers for coming out to the track. They had a great time at the track and I look forward to having them come to more races in the future."

"He concluded, "I want to thank Andy Hillenburg for putting this deal together. He has done an awful lot for my racing career and I'm thankful. Our season is just starting and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."

Before climbing back in a truck, Silas will compete in two ARCA RE/MAX Series events at Winchester Speedway and Kentucky Speedway respectively behind the wheel of his No. 11 Nortrax-Shell Rotella T Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Currently, he sits ninth in championship points heading into the sixth ARS event of the season.

For more on Bryan Silas, please visit BryanSilasRacing.com.