Bires to the #88?

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Bires to the #88? UPDATE: JR Motorsports President Kelley Earnhardt confirmed that Kelly Bires is on the list of possible replacements for Brad Keselowski should the company and the driver part ways. Many in the garage have called Bires, who turns 25 Tuesday, the front-runner for the #88 Nationwide Series ride.(FoxSports)(8-24-2009)
UPDATE: Driver Kelly Bires and JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. share a mutual interest in joining forces next season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The only question is when  and if  they will. The recent announcement of Brad Keselowski's departure from the #88 JR Motorsports entry at season's end leaves a full-time vacancy in one of the Chevrolets that Earnhardt Jr. co-owns with Rick Hendrick. Plans for the organization's No. 5 team also remain in the works, possibly giving Bires another way in. "Kelly is a good kid," Earnhardt Jr. said after finishing third in Saturday night's Nationwide race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "I've watched him for a couple of years. He's got some opportunities to do a couple of different things next year. We've talked to him about working with us and he seems excited about that opportunity. We're working with him and pitching him to several partners we have, and hopefully, the new partners that sign up with us. Bires indicated on Saturday at AMS that he would be open to the idea of driving the #5 or #88 JR Motorsports entry and expressed a clear interest in the organization, which has won races with both its cars in the last two Nationwide seasons. Bires expects an announcement about his future to be just around the corner. "I would think the sooner the better, so I think the next couple weeks are going to be real critical and I think you'll see something come in the next couple weeks," he said.(SceneDaily)(9-6-2009)

This would be a great deal for Kelly. Hope it works out. He deserves a GOOD ride.

I'm crossing my fingers that the contract to let Kelly drive full-time gets signed!

Ditto that.

It's official - 2 year deal

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 15, 2009) – Rising talent Kelly Bires has signed to drive a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series entry for JR Motorsports in 2010-11, general manager Kelley Earnhardt announced today.

A native of Mauston, Wis., Bires has frequented the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since 2006. In 66 career Nationwide Series starts, Bires has earned three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. He tallied two of his top-fives this season with a career-best finish of fourth at Nashville Superspeedway on April 11 for Kevin Harvick Inc. and fifth at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 1 for Braun Racing.

“Kelly is a talented young driver, and we want to give him the opportunity to showcase that talent,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of JR Motorsports. “Our whole premise at JR Motorsports from the beginning has been to take up-and-coming drivers, give them the chance to drive good equipment, and help them reach the next level. Kelly has a lot of promise. I noticed his potential earlier this year, and we are glad to have him at JR Motorsports.”

JR Motorsports fields the Nos. 88 and 5 teams in the Nationwide Series. It has not been determined which of the two Bires will drive in 2010, as JR Motorsports is still in the process of securing sponsorship for next season.

“I can’t thank Dale Jr. and Kelley enough for this opportunity,” Bires said. “JR Motorsports is a quality organization. They win races, and they contend for championships. As a driver, that’s all you can ever ask for. They have a tremendous infrastructure of support with Rick Hendrick and Tony Eury Sr. These are people who know how to win races, know how to win championships, and know what it takes to be successful.”

Bires got his NASCAR start in 2006 in a Camping World Truck Series entry for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing (now JTG-Daugherty Racing). He was scheduled to tackle a partial truck schedule in 2007 but was promoted to the team’s Nationwide Series entry after just seven races. In 2008 – his first full-time Nationwide Series attempt – Bires finished 13th in the point standings with six top-10s.

Like many of today’s racers, Bires started early. By the age of 17, he had already secured two regional karting championships and two national titles. He entered the Allison Legacy Car Series at the age of 15. In his first season, he captured Rookie of the Year honors. In his second season, he was crowned series champion. Bires made the move to late models in 2002, and in his first season in the ASA Late Model Series, he earned eight wins, four poles, and 15 top-fives. He finished no worse than 10th in each of his 17 starts.

~JR Motorsports~

Hate that I had to go to that site to read this info... Happy for Kelly; hate that it's with Hendrick/JR.

Good for Kelly!!
I'm very happy to see him in a competitive ride. Oh well.....Hendrick/Jr (it's only 2 years)
Hopefully he'll do very well and this will lead to a good Cup ride.

he better produce fast- before Brad K came Jr.'s car was nothing but a revolving seat of drivers

GREAT NEWS!! i had good fortune of meeting kelly through my friend (at the time my friend was with JTG racing) & kelly was nice enough to let me get a picture w/him. really happy for him, can't wait to see what he will be able to do with decent equipment. i think he will get the job done

That's cool that you got to meet and get your picture taken with him.

I'm glad it's now official!!!

I don't even care that it is with Hendrick/JR Motorsports... I'm just glad Kelly got a competitive, full-time ride. This is going to be the perfect chance for everyone to witness his breakthrough in the Nationwide Series.

I think it will be a breakthrough season for him. I mean, we've seen how competitive he can be in the 47 and in the few-race deals he's gotten this year with Braun and Harvick.

Great for Kelly!