| Kelly Bires | |||||||
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| Born | August 25, 1984 Mauston, Wisconsin |
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| Achievements | 2001 Great Lakes Allison Legacy Series Champion 2006 ASA Late Model Series Challenge Division Champion |
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| Awards | 2000 Great Lakes Allison Legacy Series Rookie of the Year 2002 Dells Motor Speedway Rookie of the Year 2006 ASA Late Model Series Rookie of the Year |
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| NASCAR Nationwide Series career | |||||||
| Car no., team | 25 - Team Rensi Motorsports 18 - Joe Gibbs Racing |
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| 2009 position | 48th | ||||||
| Best finish | 13th - 2008 | ||||||
| First race | 2007 Federated Auto Parts 300 (Nashville) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
| Best finish | 44th - 2007 | ||||||
| First race | 2006 Easy Care Vehicle Service Contracts 200 (Atlanta) | ||||||
| Last race | 2007 Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of April 17, 2010. | |||||||
Kelly Bires (born August 25, 1984 in Mauston, Wisconsin) is an American stock car driver. He currently drives the #25 Ford Mustang for Team Rensi Motorsports and the #18 International Comfort Products Corporation Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series.
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Bires began karting at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin at age 9 and began competing in national karting events at age 12. He won several regional titles and two national championships.[1]
He became the Great Lakes Allison Legacy Series Rookie of the Year in 2000, and followed up the championship by winning the series in 2001. Bires next moved up to the Super Late Model racecars at Dells Motor Speedway, finishing fifth in points and named 2002 Rookie of the Year. The following year he finished second in championship points. Bires made his first start in ARCA in May 2004. In 2006, he joined up with veteran American Speed Association Late Model Series crew chief Howie Lettow and won the season championship that year.[2]
In the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Bires was the driver of the #21 Wood Brothers Racing truck in 19 races, handing over driving duties for the other six races to veteran Mark Martin. He had a tenth place finish at Atlanta. After the departure of Jon Wood due to illness, Bires left the Truck Series and started racing for Tad Geschickter beginning at Nashville Superspeedway. His best Busch Series start was 26th and best finish was 7th in the Meijer 300 presented by Oreo race at Kentucky Speedway. Named the permanent driver of the #47 car in 2008, Bires had six top-ten finishes en route to a 13th place points finish. However, he was without a job at the end of the season due to lack of sponsorship.
Bires spent the 2009 season driving for various teams, including Braun Racing, MSRP Motorsports, and JTG where he did start and park, as well as competing for Kevin Harvick Incorporated and CJM Racing. His best finish that year came at Iowa Speedway, where he finished fifth in Bruan's Fraternal Order of Eagles Toyota. At the end of the season, Bires signed a contract to drive for JR Motorsports through 2011. While he did not compete in the season opening race at Daytona, he did have a seventh place finish at Auto Club. Bires had three top-twenty finishes altogether, but was released from JR Motorsports after five races.
Bires returned to the Nationwide Series in 2011, driving for Team Rensi Motorsports. However, Bires had to start and park his #25 on numerous occasions, and withdrew from two races. After Rensi cut back its schedule, Bires was hired by Joe Gibbs Racing to drive their #18 Toyota at Richmond and Chicagoland.
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