LMS: WalTom Racing Madison summary

WalTom Leads Kelly Bires to Another Victory in ASA Late Models

21-Year-Old Wins in First Trip to Oswego, Now Sets His Sights on Berlin

CHICAGO, IL (June 12, 2006) -- Kelly Bires is a rookie in the ASA Late Model ranks this year. Conventional wisdom would say that it might take him the better part of the season to find his feet on the tour. Conventional wisdom, however, was wrong. Bires was able to win at Madison International Speedway (WI) for the #89 WalTom Racing team in only his third ASA LM Challenge Series start.

As impressive as that sounds, the road to win number two was even quicker. Just one Challenge Series race after Madison, Bires won again. This victory came at New York's Oswego Speedway.

Bires is getting used to that winning feeling.

"It feels good," said Bires. "That's what we want to do -- just keep doing it one after another. When we go to the track, we are out to win every race.

Before this weekend's race, Bires had never even seen Oswego before. His crew chief, Howie Lethow, had been there about 15 years before, but that did not translate into much of an advantage this time out.

"What we ran this time was totally different from when he was there before," said Bires. "There were different tires and different cars, so it was just like going to a brand new track."

Still, it didn't take long for Bires, Lethow and the WalTom team to get going.

"We were pretty much up to speed after one practice. We were a half-second quicker in the first practice and keep getting better from there. The other cars got faster, too, but we kept the same margin between us and them. It was a little free in qualifying and in the first half of the race. We made three adjustments during the halfway break and it took off during the second part of the race."

Bires is now shooting for three victories in a row this Wednesday night as the ASA LM Challenge Series visits Berlin Raceway (MI).

"Last weekend is over, so now it is off to Berlin to see what we can do," said Bires.

The Berlin race promises to be one of the tour's biggest events of the season. NASCAR drivers Johnny Benson and David Stremme are entered in the race, along with ASA legend Butch Miller and the usual suspects of the series.

"It's a really big show with big crowds and some good drivers there," said Bires. "But you can only go so fast with these cars. If you are set up good, you are set up good. There will be some veteran drivers there with more time on the track, so they will probably be quicker right away. Once, we pick the track up a little bit like we usually do, I don't see why we can't have a top-five car. It might be tough to win the thing, but if we can come out of there with a top-five, we'll be satisfied."

And for 21-year-old Bires, getting the chance to go wheel-to-wheel with a field of accomplished racers is almost certain to make him a better driver himself.

"Anytime that happens, it's good for the series and if you beat the best out there, it is good for you, too."

The ASA LM Safety Clean 200 takes place at Berlin on Wednesday, June 14th, at 7pm.

WalTom Racing, with Kelly Bires, will compete on the ASA Late Model Challenge Series tour in 2006.

-www.waltomracing.com