Atlanta Race Beckons Bires & The Clorox Team

Right on the heels of a trying weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the No. 47 Clorox Ford team comes a racetrack where Kelly Bires & Company can take out their frustrations. Kelly Bires made his NASCAR debut at the 1.5-mile speedway in a late 2006 Craftsman Truck. He started 29th and finished 19th despite having no radio communication with his crew throughout the event. He came back the next year, qualified seventh and finished 10th for his first NASCAR top-10 finish.

Bires was headed for an almost certain top-five finish last week at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. On the team’s final pit stop just 15 laps shy of the finish, the team got trapped a lap down to the field when the caution flag waved. Bires had to settle for 15th place--and for he and the team to view the finish as a disappointment sheds light on the level of expectations so far in the 2008 season.

The No. 47 Clorox Ford race team will be bringing Chassis 42 as their primary car for Saturday’s Nicorette 300. Chassis 42 is their original “baseline” car, built from the ground up to be the standard car in the fleet. The car has a fine history, as well, with both of the top 2007 finishes for the No. 47 team came using this chassis—a seventh place finish at the Kentucky Speedway and a ninth place finish in the Fall Charlotte race.

What it all adds up to is synergy. A great track for Kelly Bires and their top car in the fleet should provide the type of race-ending result that eluded them last weekend in Las Vegas.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY:
Kelly Bires, Driver of the No. 47 Clorox Ford:
“I’m glad we’re going to Atlanta because I really, really love the place. I think all of the drivers do. There are definitely multiple grooves out there and you can set your car up to run the high line or low line. Most of the time, that will shift during the race, so it’s best to find the balance you need to do either one.

We’re bringing one of my favorite cars here and all of my good finishes have been in this car. I hope we can top our best effort so far of seventh. We’re never ones to get overconfident, but we’re all really looking forward to this weekend."

Scott Zipadelli, Crew Chief of the No. 47 Clorox Ford:
“It’s only three weeks in [to the new season] and we’ve already surpassed a lot of the demons that held us back last year on a week-to-week basis. It shows what you can accomplish when you have the time to plan things accordingly and execute. So far this year, we’ve hit that three weeks in a row—even adjusting on the fly when we’ve had to.

It’s giving us all a lot of confidence. Confidence that we can run with the best of them week in and week out. We’re all getting better—our shops guys, our road crew, Kelly and maybe even me. It’s just a lot of fun right now and we’re a pretty loose bunch now at the racetrack—quite a difference from the way it used to be.”

FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Kelly Bires will drive the No. 47 Clorox Ford in Saturday’s Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. .
-The No. 47 Clorox team will be taking Chassis No. 42 as their primary Vegas car.
-Qualifying for the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway is slated for Saturday, 9:05 p.m. EST and will be shown live on the SPEED Channel.

NEXT EVENT NEWS:
WHERE: Atlanta Motor Speedway; Hampton, GA
WHAT: Nicorette 300 (195 laps, 300 miles)
WHEN: March 8th, 2008; 2:00 p.m. EST
NETWORK: ESPN 2 Network; PRN & Sirius Satellite Radio Networks