For only 125 pounds, Nationwide Series regular Kelly Bires is tough.

His crew chief Scott Zipadelli can tell you that first hand.

"He got a little lippy so we wrestled here on the shop floor," Zipadelli laughed. "Nobody won, but I almost had a heart attack and had to stop. He's tough...got a lot of heart."

Career statistics

Nationwide Series

Year	Races	Wins	Top-5	Top-10
2007	19	0	0	2
2008	11	0	1	1
Total	30	0	1	3

Best Finish: Fifth at Nashville on March 22, 2008

Truck Series

Year	Races	Wins	Top-5	Top-10
2006	1	0	0	0
2007	7	0	0	1
Total	8	0	0	1

Best Finish: 10th at Atlanta on March 16, 2007

A lot of heart and determination are words Zipadelli and many others use to describe the 23-year-old from Wisconsin.

Refreshing is the other.

Bires, a driver arguably called up from the Craftsman Truck Series to Nationwide too soon in 2007, is now living up to his fanfare.

Tapped to replace Jon Woods, ailing from said to be attention deficit medications, Bires' role in the No. 47 JTG Racing machine was intended to be temporary, but his results nearing the end of 2007 landed him a confidence-boosting full-time ride this year.

His gratitude is evident by the four top-15 finishes in 11 races; one of which, Nashville, was a top-five finish. He finished 12th at Daytona and Atlanta and came home 15th at Las Vegas.

The team, Bires said, has made a great turnaround from running mid-to-back of the pack last season.

Time over the winter allowed the No. 47 team to build additional cars -- ones that fit Bires' driving style.

Bires held up his end of the bargain as well.

He put in long hours at the shop. While everyone else leisured during the offseason like a spring break trip, Bires was working on his fitness and building chemistry with his crew chief. He bought a small house in Kannapolis, N.C., and was in Zipadelli's office every morning.

The team along with Zipadelli said their driver has a work ethic few young men in NASCAR posses in today's it's-all-about-me-minded sport.

He comes to the shop shirt pressed and tucked in, ready to work.

"Right now he is what he is supposed to be -- a student of his profession, and he is absorbing everything we tell him," Zipadelli said.

Bires' racing career developed like many young racers before him. He toiled in the grass-roots divisions, went Saturday-night racing and learned to repair his own equipment.

He caught the attention of JTG Racing owners by running up front in the Truck Series and proved as a rookie he could earn the respect of the veterans through clean racing.

Although what Bires has under is belt are two state wrestling championships from high school. The then-113-pound high school senior could've written his ticket to any college of his liking from wrestling scholarships.

But after performing two-a-days for the coach, Bires would always hurry home to work on his racecar.

Bires said wrestling is what gave him an intense desire to compete at an early age.

"It made me a competitor, mentally and physically tough, because cutting weight and constantly running is miserable," he said.

Crew chiefs will tell you every driver demonstrates convincing ability but there's always one pivotal moment that stands out and sets that driver apart from the pack.

For Zipadelli, Bires' moment of proof was O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis last season.

"We unloaded and we were OK; we worked hard, changed lots of things to get him comfortable," Zipadelli said. "But he just got a little over anxious and lost focus during the last few laps of practice, right before we had to go qualify and slid into the wall. Kelly flattened the right side of the car and we went to banging on it."

Despite the setback, Bires qualified fourth, ran up front and led a lap until his motor blew.

"You can make excuses but somehow, someway you got to make it happen," Zipadelli said. "Kelly makes it happen over here."

Bires will tell you all thanks go to Zipadelli.

"He has given me everything I've ever asked for," Bires said. "We both come from the North and have similar interests, we click and he's done everything I've ever asked of him; everything I've needed to progress so quickly."

And without big budget items such as wind tunnel testing and seven post shaker rigs, Zipadelli relies heavily upon what his driver tells him.

"He knows what my butt has been telling him, that's it," Bires said. "He knows when it is time to go and everything is working out the way it should be."

The two, both in their sophomore years of their respective professions, are progressing and maturing side by side.

Zipadelli has the years, sage advice, and Bires has will, the ability to make lemonade when life hands him lemons.

He is a glass is half full kind of guy, Zipadelli said.

And that mentality will come in handy this weekend as the No. 47 team travels to Darlington, a newly repaved track that Bires has never seen let alone raced on.

That said, Bires is confident the team will bring home a top-15 finish regardless the number of Sprint Cup Series moonlighters.

"Last season we would be happy with a top-20 finish," Bires said. "This season it's a disappointment."