A blown engine, however, changed all that in a flash.

Bires qualified third and was in the Top 10 during the first 120 laps when the engine inside his No. 21 U.S. Air Force Ford F-150 exploded. Instead of celebrating a good finish, Bires had to find solace in having one of the best trucks at the Kansas Speedway - and a 31st-place finish.

Bires is sharing the driving duties at Wood Brothers/JTG Racing with legendary driver Mark Martin. In fact, Martin will be back in the No. 21 Ford for the Quaker Steak and Lube 200 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 18. Bires will drive the No. 16 Ford for Xpress Motorsports as part of a working relationship between both teams.

Although the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is off for three weeks, Bires will be busy. The team is scheduled to test at South Boston Speedway, as well as Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Kelly Bires, driver of the No. 21 U.S. Air Force Ford F-150:
"We just came off of (Turn) 4 there and got right to the start/finish line and it just blew up," he said. "There were no vibrations, nothing letting us know it was going to go. The U.S. Air Force Ford was faster. We made the right adjustments on that last run. The stop before that, we got fuel only, and it kind of hurt us. It knocked the balance off the truck."

"We would have had a Top-Three truck, I think, without a doubt. I'm a little disappointed but a good night before that happened and my guys worked really had and made good pit stops and I'm just real proud of them."

"There's a lot of finesse here. It seems like to get the thing to turn you need a little bit of brake. You have to drive them free. If you don't drive them free here, you're going to be a little bit too slow."

Bires' next race with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing is at The Milwaukee Mile on June 22.

Mark Martin will drive the No. 21 truck in the next two races, including the Quaker Steak and Lube 200 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 18.