Supermodified teams have strong season

Eric Silsby has greatly improved as a supermodifed race car driver. In just his third season as a driver for S&S Motorsports in Carson City, Silsby has posted more fast qualifying times than any other driver on the Supermodified Racing League circuit.

Silsby's driving prowess earned him a fifth-place finish in the standings for the 2002 SRL season. As team owners, Tom Silsby and Steve Shaw earned fourth place in points. All are from Carson City.

"There were probably eight or nine drivers who could have won a race on any given night," Silsby said. "But there were four or five this year who stood out and stayed on top."

Fifth isn't a bad finishing spot when you consider Silsby missed two of the 13 scheduled races.

"We didn't race Phoenix (first race on schedule)," Steve Shaw said.

"It's a very expensive race and at the time, it didn't make sense to us to start our program like that (in the red)."

In his quest for main event wins, Eric Silsby picked up two -- his biggest being the Harvest Fall Classic in Madera, Calif.

"It's been a pretty up and down season," Tom Silsby added. "But not a bad year."

"We had tire issues," Shaw said.

"The car ran well every race, but we struggled with the tires. There was inconsistency. The Hoosier tires were inconsistent.

"But Eric did a good job for us. We've seen notable improvements. Like on his passing and he's always a top-qualifier. He did a great job for us."

Eric Silsby, 35, feels S&S Motorsports has a solid team. And they're good.

"We have a solid car, a solid racing motor. We still have a little bit of learning, but we're getting over the hump as far as learning. Next year, we'll definitely be a contender for the championship."

Tom Silsby and Steve Shaw give great thanks to their sponsors: Valley Chevrolet-Pontiac, Don Jack; Sierra Racing Products, Ron Burdg; Paughco, Inc., Ron Pauch, and Shaw Construction.

"Eric's progression -- he's showing great signs of being a good driver," Tom Silsby said.

"We also want to give special thanks to Tom Reitz, one of the best motor builders, of Racing Engines in Fresno, Calif.," Shaw said. "He's a one-man shop. He's really good and a tremendous help. He passes his knowledge on to us."

S&S Motorsports carries their own chassis design and basically everything that's buildable, they design and build it for the baby blue painted No. 98 machine.

"Eric's doing a good job for us, we want him and everyone to know that," Shaw said.

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Dale Lamborn of Carson City drove the familiar, bright yellow No. 28 supermodified racecar owned by Tom Silsby.

The 1995 limited sportsman champion at then Silver State Raceway, Lamborn rocked to an eighth-place standing in the SRL, missing five of the 13 scheduled races.

"We did well this year," Lamborn said. "We had a top-5 finish most of the season and once we go rolling we had a pretty good year."

Lamborn said he was just happy to be involved with S&S Motorsports -- Tom Silsby, Steve Shaw and Eric Silsby.

"I ran my motor in Tom's car. It's the big block. I'm looking to purchase a motor like what Eric ran last year and be out of the big block.

"It's nice to be associated with them. This was probably the best year I've had since moving to the supermodifieds. I started running them in 1998 and in my first year made rookie of the year."

Lamborn said he's been dabbling along running half seasons with the league, only taking in 6-8 races.

"Next year, I'm going to try like heck to run the whole season. We're going to get prepared and give it a serious shot with the team."

Lamborn's sponsors include Empire Framing Contractors, Empire Builders and S&S Motorsports.

"Special thanks go to Steve, Eric and Tom."