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NNS: Being In Patrick’s Shadow Okay With Bires
Earlier this month, Kelly Bires became Danica Patrick’s teammate...
In October, Kelly Bires signed a two-year NASCAR Nationwide Series deal with JR Motorsports.
Kelly Bires was all set to be the featured NASCAR Nationwide Series driver at JR Motorsports. He’s replacing six-time winner Brad Keselowski in one of the top cars in the series.
But that changed recently, when JRM added another driver to its lineup: Danica Patrick.
Suddenly, Bires became Patrick’s teammate, the other guy, Kelly who?
But the 25-year-old from Mauston, Wis., doesn’t seem to mind having a much higher-profile teammate. In fact, he seems to prefer it that way.
“I’ve always considered myself an under-the-radar guy,” Bires said. “I’ve never been the high-profile type. It doesn’t bother me.
“Danica’s a great person. She’s brought a lot of unique things to the program, and we’re all excited to have her. She’s got a tremendous amount of talent. It’s going to be fun having her as a teammate.”
Bires will have her as a teammate for only up to 13 races in 2010, as Bires is running the full schedule and not a partial one like Patrick. Keselowski won twice in 2008 and four times in ’09 as he finished third in the Nationwide standings.
“Hopefully, we’re going to pick up right where Brad left off,” crew chief and JRM Competition Director Tony Eury Sr. said, “if you leave the Denny Hamlin part out.”
Keselowski, of course, was embroiled in a feud with Hamlin throughout the latter part of the season.
Bires just laughed.
“Denny, I’ve had no problems with him,” Bires said. “I think that situation might have moved on.”
Bires may get involved in a dustup with another driver during his tenure at JRM, but he’s not likely to go looking for trouble. Drivers from Wisconsin have tended to be quieter, no-nonsense types, and Bires wants to be that way, too.
When told he could have more fans watching him in 2010 because of his co-owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bires simply said, “the more of them the better” and that he hopes they come to understand his personality better.
What’s his personality? He’s “very ambitious,” he said, but he says he hopes to be like Matt Kenseth on race weekends.
“You come to the track for one thing, and that’s to get your car running as fast as you can and get the best finish for the weekend,” Bires said.
Eury Sr. said those finishes need to be in the top five and top 10. Bires was picked for the No. 88 Chevrolet because of his unique combination of youth, talent and experience.
“He’s got a full season down at JTG [Daugherty Racing],” Eury Sr. said. “He ran a lot of Truck stuff. That had a lot to do with us picking a driver for that car. We didn’t really want to go back to a complete learning curve with a driver. But we wanted a young drover, somebody like Brad who we could put in the car who had been driving a couple years and [could] go to the race track and be competitive.”
That’s a lot of pressure for a driver who has started only 68 races in his Nationwide career. But Bires said he’s already faced more pressure in simply trying to find a ride.
In 2009, sponsorship issues forced him to the sideline with JTG, and he had to scrape together any rides he could find.
“The hardest part for me is just to get in a good car,” Bires said. “The results on the track, the actual driving the car has been the easiest part. This day and age with sponsorship, not having money in my back pocket, that’s been the tough part. This is just a great opportunity all around.”
And it’s one Bires intends to make the best of.
“There’s a hunger there for sure,” Eury Sr. said. “I’ve sat down and talked to Kelly – and the few times he’s been in the car – I think he’s going to fit right in. We’ve just got to get him used to the equipment that we have here.”
SceneDaily.com•Dale Earnhardt Jr. optimistic about Danica Patrick’s chances for success in NASCAR
But that changed recently, when JRM added another driver to its lineup: Danica Patrick.
Suddenly, Bires became Patrick’s teammate, the other guy, Kelly who?
But the 25-year-old from Mauston, Wis., doesn’t seem to mind having a much higher-profile teammate. In fact, he seems to prefer it that way.
“I’ve always considered myself an under-the-radar guy,” Bires said. “I’ve never been the high-profile type. It doesn’t bother me.
“Danica’s a great person. She’s brought a lot of unique things to the program, and we’re all excited to have her. She’s got a tremendous amount of talent. It’s going to be fun having her as a teammate.”
Bires will have her as a teammate for only up to 13 races in 2010, as Bires is running the full schedule and not a partial one like Patrick. Keselowski won twice in 2008 and four times in ’09 as he finished third in the Nationwide standings.
“Hopefully, we’re going to pick up right where Brad left off,” crew chief and JRM Competition Director Tony Eury Sr. said, “if you leave the Denny Hamlin part out.”
Keselowski, of course, was embroiled in a feud with Hamlin throughout the latter part of the season.
Bires just laughed.
“Denny, I’ve had no problems with him,” Bires said. “I think that situation might have moved on.”
Bires may get involved in a dustup with another driver during his tenure at JRM, but he’s not likely to go looking for trouble. Drivers from Wisconsin have tended to be quieter, no-nonsense types, and Bires wants to be that way, too.
When told he could have more fans watching him in 2010 because of his co-owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bires simply said, “the more of them the better” and that he hopes they come to understand his personality better.
What’s his personality? He’s “very ambitious,” he said, but he says he hopes to be like Matt Kenseth on race weekends.
“You come to the track for one thing, and that’s to get your car running as fast as you can and get the best finish for the weekend,” Bires said.
Eury Sr. said those finishes need to be in the top five and top 10. Bires was picked for the No. 88 Chevrolet because of his unique combination of youth, talent and experience.
“He’s got a full season down at JTG [Daugherty Racing],” Eury Sr. said. “He ran a lot of Truck stuff. That had a lot to do with us picking a driver for that car. We didn’t really want to go back to a complete learning curve with a driver. But we wanted a young drover, somebody like Brad who we could put in the car who had been driving a couple years and [could] go to the race track and be competitive.”
That’s a lot of pressure for a driver who has started only 68 races in his Nationwide career. But Bires said he’s already faced more pressure in simply trying to find a ride.
In 2009, sponsorship issues forced him to the sideline with JTG, and he had to scrape together any rides he could find.
“The hardest part for me is just to get in a good car,” Bires said. “The results on the track, the actual driving the car has been the easiest part. This day and age with sponsorship, not having money in my back pocket, that’s been the tough part. This is just a great opportunity all around.”
And it’s one Bires intends to make the best of.
“There’s a hunger there for sure,” Eury Sr. said. “I’ve sat down and talked to Kelly – and the few times he’s been in the car – I think he’s going to fit right in. We’ve just got to get him used to the equipment that we have here.”
SceneDaily.com•Dale Earnhardt Jr. optimistic about Danica Patrick’s chances for success in NASCAR
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