Bires began karting at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin at the age of nine, advancing to national karting events by the time he was twelve. He won several regional titles and two national championships in karting. In 2000, Bires was named Rookie of the Year in the Great Lakes Allison Legacy Series and followed that by winning the series championship in 2001.
He moved to Super Late Model cars at Dells Motor Speedway in 2002, finishing fifth in points and earning Rookie of the Year honours. He finished second in championship points the following year. He made his first ARCA start in May 2004. In 2006, Bires captured the American Speed Association Late Model Series championship alongside veteran crew chief Howie Lettow.
In the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Bires drove the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing truck in nineteen races, sharing driving duties with veteran Mark Martin for the remaining six events. He recorded a tenth-place finish at Atlanta. After Jon Wood left the programme due to illness, Bires moved to Tad Geschickter's Nationwide Series entry and posted a seventh-place finish at Kentucky Speedway in the Meijer 300 presented by Oreo.
Named the permanent driver of the No. 47 car in 2008, Bires achieved six top-ten finishes en route to a thirteenth-place points finish. The departure of sponsor Clorox/Kingsford, which followed Marcos Ambrose to the Sprint Cup Series, left Bires without a full-time ride at season's end.
Bires spent 2009 driving for various teams, including Braun Racing, MSRP Motorsports, JTG, Kevin Harvick Incorporated, and CJM Racing. His best result that year came at Iowa Speedway, where he finished fifth in Braun's Fraternal Order of Eagles Toyota. He also took a tenth-place finish for Kevin Harvick Incorporated at Nashville.
At the end of 2009, Bires signed a two-year deal with JR Motorsports to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet. Sponsorship complications meant he was absent from the Daytona season opener — Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran the car to fulfil Unilever obligations — and Danica Patrick's GoDaddy sponsorship occupied the No. 7 car alongside. Bires debuted at Fontana and finished seventh. After only five races, with just one finish outside the top seventeen (a crash at Las Vegas), Earnhardt Jr. removed Bires in favour of Cup regular Jamie McMurray, citing chemistry issues with team management including Tony Eury Sr. and Jr. Bires returned to the Braun Racing No. 10 at Richmond, then raced for Baker-Curb Racing, Team Rensi Motorsports, and RAB Racing throughout the remainder of the season.
In 2011 Bires drove for Rensi in the Nationwide Series, though the team frequently started and parked, and withdrew from two races. After Rensi reduced its schedule, Joe Gibbs Racing engaged Bires to drive their No. 18 Toyota at Richmond and Chicagoland. He also made two start-and-park appearances in Go Green Racing's No. 04 car.
Bires attempted six Sprint Cup Series races for Go Green in 2012, making three race starts with a best finish of 38th. He was released from both his Cup and Nationwide rides in November 2012.
In 2013, Bires transitioned to a crew chief role, leading the late model team of Ross Kenseth, son of Cup Series veteran Matt Kenseth.
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