Steady Start For Bires At Talladega

Kelly Bires has made a steady start to the Aaron’s 312 in practice at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama today.

Bires was 23rd in opening practice, followed by 19th in opening practice, a solid start ahead of this weekend’s 117-lap race.

The Wisconsin native is looking for a strong run in Talladega, a venue that saw him finish in fourth place in an ARCA event in 2006.

Steve Wallace and Jason Leffler topped today’s two practice sessions. Qualifying will be held tomorrow before the Aaron’s 312 is held on Saturday (Sunday morning Australian time).

Kelly Bires - #59 Clorox Ford Fusion

“We’ve got the Clorox car running well so now we will fine tune it and look to get a good race car of it,” said Bires.

“This is a great track and I’m looking forward to the race. We’ve made a solid start and from here I think we can have a good day on Saturday.”

RESULTS: Practice 1
1. #66 Steve Wallace 49.876
2. #38 Jason Leffler 50.043
3. #59 Marcos Ambrose 50.069
4. #99 David Reutimann 50.122
5. #6 David Ragan 50.161
6. #27 Brad Coleman 50.178
7. #2 Clint Bowyer 50.185
8. #81 DJ Kennington 50.218
9. #1 Mike Bliss 50.242
10. #32 Denny Hamlin 50.244
23. #47 Kelly Bires 50.443

RESULTS: Final Practice
1. #38 Jason Leffler 49.274
2. #1 Mike Bliss 49.523
3. #59 Marcos Ambrose 29.579
4. #33 Cale Gale 49.715
5. #7 Mike Wallace 49.737
6. #81 DJ Kennington 49.743
7. #64 David Stremme 49.825
8. #21 Stephen Leicht 49.945
9. #2 Clint Bowyer 49.975
10. #16 Greg Biffle 50.090
19. #47 Kelly Bires 50.611

2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Standings - After Race 9 of 35
1. Clint Bowyer 1339
2. Car Edwards 1330
3. Kyle Busch 1273
4. David Reutimann 1192
5. David Ragan 1165
6. Brad Keselowski 1153
7. Mike Bliss 1136
8. Jason Leffler 1062
9. Mike Wallace 1036
10. Kelly Bires 1008

RACE SCHEDULE
Local Alabama (US Central) Times
Qualifying
Friday 25 April 2008
4:05pm

Race – 117 laps
Saturday 26 April 2008
2:00pm US Central
3:00pm US Eastern

UNITED STATES TV SCHEDULE
Saturday 26 April 2008
ABC
2:30pm US Eastern

ABOUT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
Location: Talladega, Alabama
Track Length: 2.66 miles
Race Distance: 117 laps – 311.22 miles
Degree of Banking in Turns: 33 degrees
Degree of Banking in Front Straight: 16.5 degrees
Degree of Banking in Back Straight: 2 degrees