Birkhofer to return to racing with Gheer'd Up

WHEATLAND — At the end of the 2014 racing season, Brian Birkhofer left dirt Late Model racing just a little less full and a lot less fun when he stepped out of the car and away from the sport. He closed the doors on his race team and was unsure if he'd ever race again.

But after a little more than a year away, and for at least one weekend at the end of March, Birky is back.

The Muscatine native has agreed to join forces with Gheer'd Up Racecars and Justin Kay to get back in an open Late Model to race at the 5th Annual Thaw Brawl at LaSalle Speedway in LaSalle, Ill. Birkhofer, who respectfully declined an interview for this story, confirmed the news of his return and told Ricky Kay — Justin's dad, and part-owner of the race team — he 'wants to let the car do the talking.'

Everyone involved heavily emphasized this isn't a full-scale return to traveling on the Lucas Oil Late Model Series or even racing weekly, rather that Birkhofer will have his own seat in the Gheer'd Up stable whenever he wants it — with an eye toward possible entry in all the 'crown jewels' of the sport. The deal hinges on going racing when Birkhofer wants to go.

'I sat down with him, and we made sure we all knew we're going to have fun,' said Ricky Kay, who brokered the deal with Birkhofer and his wife, Alyssa, for the return. 'He does not want to race every weekend. He's enjoying his family life. We've got 10 or 12 races picked out, but Brian has reservations. He thinks he may have lost it. But we all know, you don't forget. He hasn't forgotten how to drive.

'We're going to play it by ear. We're going to have fun. That's the idea.'

Birkhofer could be in the car for those 10 or 12 races, or it could be just at LaSalle — there's no guarantee of anything beyond March 25-26. It all depends on how that race goes and how comfortable Birkhofer is with everything.

The Gheer'd Up team, co-owned in a group by Tyson Gheer, Justin and Ricky Kay and Scott Fitzpatrick, all know better than to think Birkhofer won't have a very good chance of picking up right where he left off — which was winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals in the final race before stepping away at Knoxville Raceway.

A guy that talented doesn't just lose it.

'He says he might've lost it, and we're all like, 'Come on, man,'' Fitzpatrick said through a laugh. 'You don't forget that. He said, 'You guys might fire me after two races,' and all we can do is laugh. No way.

'He's a very humble person. The success he's had, he's very humble. It's pretty cool, he's not all up on himself. He's about coming over and helping out.'

Gheer'd Up believes it can grow as an organization and vastly improve its open Late Model program by bringing Birkhofer into the fold.

When Gheer and the Kays joined forces a few years ago, it sparked the most success Justin has ever had in a racecar, and the pair have won 80 races from 2013-15. But each of those 80 wins has come in an IMCA or IMCA-type Late Model, while the open Late Model stuff hasn't been nearly as successful. Justin believes he can learn a great deal as a driver, and that it'll expand Gheer'd Up's reach if the open stuff improves.

'I feel like with him there, I'll be able to have more fun at the racetrack because I won't have everybody looking just at me. It'll be spread out that way,' Justin Kay said. 'If we can go out and run real well with him, I think it could be really big for Gheer'd Up. Some of the knowledge we can gain and how it might help the whole business, we'll be able to keep racing for a long time.'

Birkhofer lamented the rising cost of the sport as one of the chief reasons for stepping away last year, citing being tired of searching for funding to be able to compete at the level he reached in winning nearly 200 feature races during his career.

But not being able to spend time with his wife and sons Cruz and Creed was just as impactful.

'I want to be the dad that's there. I've been around racing for a long time. I've known a lot of guys that they don't see their kids very often,' Birkhofer told his hometown newspaper, the Muscatine Journal, in 2014. '… I always want to be there for my kids.'

The Kays made sure Birkhofer and his wife knew those priorities came first. Ricky said, 'whether it's basketball or football or whatever the kids are into, that comes first.'

It's a very low-pressure agreement, but one that all parties involved know will capture the interest of the dirt racing community, given Birkhofer has had dozens of offers to come back to race throughout the time he's been away from the racetrack. Ricky Kay will supply the Vic Hill-built engines for Birkhofer, and a group of sponsors have stepped up to help fund the rest.

So why now? Why Gheer'd Up?

Even the Kays aren't 100 percent certain. But they sure are excited to now have 15b join 15k in their Wheatland race shop.

'We all are Birky fans — that's the most important thing. We wanted to be a part of it and are glad to be a part of it, of bringing him back,' Ricky Kay said. 'I've asked him why he joined this circus, of all of them he could've joined, and he said the timing was right.

'I don't know why us. I know there's a lot better-funded places he could've gone. I'm glad though, you know. He's a fun guy to be around. We're going to keep it fun. We're going to go watch him win, and being part of that will be the fun part.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com